Strong Winds
by LaughingTori
Summary: Wes Gale. Ex-smuggler. Apparently. All people are marked by what they were before and I am no different. What could a smuggler do to save the galaxy from power hungry Sith who could slaughter me in my sleep no problem? I never wanted to get into this...but apparently I was "Force Sensitive" enough to warrant the Jedi's attention. Just...when will I ever catch a break?
1. Prologue

**Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic**

* * *

**Strong Winds**

* * *

**Prologue**

"The Endar Spire?" I asked, mostly to myself, grinning. "Stupid name."

A quick shove behind me.

"Keep moving."

A dark haired Jedi gave me a fierce look as if I had been responsible for this trip. I gave her a small smile from my shoulder as I increased my walking pace. The loading dock was filled with other soldiers-some who actually wanted to be there in the first place and others who were shaken and afraid of the beyond. Some of them were giving the five Jedi and me curious and worried looks. I wanted to wave at them but the cuffs around my wrists restrained the motion my wrists could go.

Instead, I kept moving while the Jedi bitch kept on shoving me forward like some dog.

"_Force_, I can walk, Jedi," I muttered low enough for only her to hear.

I was given a kick in the shins as response.

_Well, she's _unexpectedly_ an arrogant prick,_ I thought bitterly, forgetting the disgusting looks the real soldiers were giving me. I was the criminal being forced onto this job, after all. Of course, for me, this was only a minor victory.

A few pilots were taking off their red helmets and were heading into the same transportation ship I was going to be shuttled into. The other four Jedi, besides the brunette bitchy one, were surrounding me like the _apparent_ dangerous criminal I was. A _smuggler._ I wasn't one to kill innocents-what sort of profit would that have given me?

The inside of the transport smelled sterile-too clean. I was used to alcohol and smoke filtering through the air like in my old ship. Where _I _was the captain and in control. Where was I now? Captured like the rat I was.

I was shoved by the Jedi bitch again into a steel bench beside some poor young looking soul-maybe a newly recruited soldier like me.

One of the older Jedi in their pack came up to me and undid my bindings with a quick flick of his wrist. I only had to smile as my bare skin was able to breath again. A minor victory. I was free to serve the Republic. These filthy liars.

One of the Jedi turned and nodded to one of the pilots. "The Commander will make her way here very soon," he said. "She is still getting her orders about the mission from the Council."

The pilot frown. "Well...she better hurry. We've been waiting for this last one a few hours now."

When he mentioned me, I decided to take the time to lean back, resting the back of my head against my crossed fingers. The new recruit beside me was giving me a nervous eye and the pilot was glaring at me from the shadow of the overhang. I smiled back at him with white teeth.

The Jedi bitch sighed, crossing her arms.

"We _leave_ when Bastila Shan is ready to."

With a final humph, the pilot left the entrance to the transporter, shaking his head and muttering, "disrespectful Jedi." I shook my head along with him in empathy. I know how you feel, random Republic pilot. Though, I do wish you would let me off and into the Outer Rim again.

The shaking boy had created a space that was a few centimeters away from me. The more experienced looking man in front of me was giving me another unwanted glare.

"You the one added to the roster last minute?" the dark haired veteran asked.

I released my head from my hands and used my knees as support for my elbows. My grin was always plastered on my face. `

"I'm not a part of your roster," I responded, challenging him to deny that fact with my eyes. He didn't look convinced and neither did his friend.

"You're Gale, right? Wesley Gale?"

I sneered.

"If you call me Wesley _again_, I swear I will throw you to that Jedi harassing bitch. I'm _Wes_, got it? _Wes_ Gale."

The older one with dark hair wasn't too bothered by my threat and instead gave me an incredulous look.

"Then you're a part of this crew, _Wes_ Gale."

He shoved his data pad in front of my eyes, rows of names with ranks listed beside them like little add ons to weapons. My eyes squinted as I searched the dark tinted names with unimportant ranks until I found the one on the bottom. _Wesley Gale, recruit_. With my name were a few others with my rank, however, there weren't many of them.

I groaned. What was the Republic doing? I thought that they were sending me to the Endar Spire to clean the decks and repair parts or..._other _menial tasks. Not become _one of them_. The soldier's friend saw my unhappy look and smirked, taking the pad from the dark haired man.

"Was there a _reason_ why you were sent here in cuffs by the Jedi?" he asked, flicking the screen and pressing a button.

I snorted and sat back again, giving the new recruit beside me a quiet yet threatening look. He slid down into his seat like the little coward he was.

"Why don't you _guess_, soldier?" I asked. _This should be interesting_.

The older one smiled at the challenge, crossing his arms.

"You piss off the Jedi or something?"

"That's rather obvious now, isn't it?" I responded, sighing. These soldiers...so uninspiring. I couldn't believe that the Republic would shove me onto a ship full of these morons. I only wished that they would have at least asked where I wanted to go instead of forcing me onto the _Endar Spire_. What sort of stupid Commander named his ship that?

His friend raised his eyes from the data pad.

"You flirted with the Commander?" he attempted. "Kissed? Attempted rape?"

I had to laugh at the dark haired soldier's younger friend.

"At least you're creative, _soldier_," I responded, "but no. I wouldn't want to kiss a Jedi never mind _invest_ in one. I don't know about you, but I like my life. Very much."

The younger soldier frowned and returned his attention to his data pad. They both looked like they had given up on me and I would have let them remain quiet if not for the pipsqueak who sat beside me, drawing ever farther away.

"Y-you're that smuggler the pilot has been talking about. The one the Jedi forced on us."

I frowned and gave the quivering one a curious eye. This new recruit looked scared out of his wits, yes, but he was probably the most observant of all of these numskulls. The two sitting in front of me widened their eyes and before any of them could say or do anything offensive, we spotted a train of Jedi and soldiers from the back of the hanger. A few soldiers were called and they straightened into a quick salute as a beautiful Jedi came marching towards us with important steps.

Many of the soldiers around me were muttering lowly amongst themselves. Bastila Shan this. The Jedi are mental that. However, overall, most were muttering praise to the new Jedi Commander. How, without her, the war would have already been won. By the Sith.

I rolled my eyes.

The first to enter were the Jedi guarding the Battle Meditator and some of them were giving me a worried stare. I shook my head several times, mostly in order to avoid most of their gazes. I knew they hated me for barging into their little mission but I really could care less if a Jedi was bothered.

I was sitting low in the bench in order to avoid most of the robed Jedi's eyes and when Commander Bastila came most of the soldiers looked up at her with minor respect. I wasn't one of these soldiers, so instead I looked down onto the metal floor. I was so tired of the Republic's ceremonies and regulations. I would have joined the army otherwise...if these men and their leaders had been prudent enough.

She...might not have been paying very much attention for I felt something hard connect with my foot. I raised my eyes from the floor in slight surprise as the commander stumbled but didn't fall. The Jedi behind her stopped with concern along with those in front.

Meanwhile, I stared at her with mild amusement. _This _was the Battle Meditator, Bastila Shan? I...had expected her to be a bit more..._agile_. I guess...that wasn't the case.

When the Jedi turned around, she gave me the fiercest look, puckering her lips like a kath pup. I only crossed my legs and gave her a smile in return. I was a "good" soldier. I might have been a smuggler but I wasn't about to piss off the Jedi Commander. I had enough of Jedi bitch for one day, I think.

Then, almost as if a stray wind had kicked her from underneath instead of my foot-tripping her down into a bottomless pit-her face turned into paralyzed stone.

My smile froze on my face when her gray eyes froze-in fear?-when she stared into my own. Before I could ask if she hadn't sprained her ankle or..._something extreme_...she turned away from me and began to speak.

_Okay..._

"All of you on board are here today to fulfill the Council's mission," she started with her silky Talravin voice. The people I had known from there were stuck up snobs, though. "Hopefully, most of you will still be here when we finally do arrive. The Sith have been seen in the Outer Rim sectors. Commander Carth Onasi has been kind enough to lend me his ship."

She stopped walking when she came to the front of the transport, right before the cabin. She eyed each of us "soldiers" as if we were little bugs to be squashed. I knew that look well enough from most of the Jedi that had pushed me around before I came onto this ship. I was _already_ tired of it.

The commander turned and eyed the pilot who nodded. Through the comm, he went through the standard procedures of securing oneself into the transport. The instructions were so bland I skipped most of the steps and pulled the latch that appeared above my head down onto my armpits. The new recruit beside me along with many others were still following the instructions slowly along with the voice of the pilot.

_Idiots_.

The commander found a seat on the very far side of the transport and buckled up between her Jedi friends. I wondered why such an important figure was arriving in this unimportant soldier transport ship. I thought the Jedi were too pompous for this sort of thing...you know, communicating with us normal folk.

I forgot that line of thought when the transport lifted-familiar bugs filling my stomach.

We were in space before I could count up to ten and the familiar feeling of the gravity wells hit me as we glided towards the Endar Spire that sat above Coruscant like a glorified taxi speeder.

The new recruit beside me was grinning in excitement while the dark haired man and his friend were giving me hateful stares. I decided to gaze out the small glass window into space and the Republic fleet encircled the important Inner Rim planet like ants to unwanted sweets.

And I was flying to a different sort of prison.

The man in front of me coughed. "So...you're a smuggler then?" he asked, though I could tell he didn't want to ask it.

I turned my attention away from the window and smiled. Mostly everyone on the transport were silent and our quiet voices were the only ones.

"Smuggler, trafficker, hut spawn...yep that sounds about right."

"Why have _you _been recruited?" his friend asked. "I don't..._think_ the Republic is that desperate for soldiers..."

_Heh, never __have you __been so wrong..._I glanced over towards the Commander and then back towards other Jedi who pushed me onto this metal bench. I looked back at the goody-two-shoes Republic soldiers.

"I've escaped prison before...the Republic just seems to have a hard time keeping me still."

The two closed their mouths when I gave them that answer and I glanced back in the direction of the brown hair and stony eyes of Bastila Shan. The Jedi was staring straight ahead at the wall as if pondering the meaning of life and all of its evils. Dark side...light side...emotion...all of that crap.

I grinned. "So...what's with the Jedi?" I asked, pointing with a free hand. "What's our mission?"

The two in front of me weren't so keen to answer as they sat back

"We thought you would know. They were the ones who brought you here."

I frowned, looking away from the group of hooded and unhooded Jedi. I hadn't expected a Jedi welcoming party when I woke up either. The cell the Republic kept me in had been dark-an IV and kolto station situated beside my bed like ghosts haunting my nightmares. My torso was still sore from the wounds I sustained and I had random headaches if I tried to turn my head too sharply.

I stayed there for days...they gave me food and water and I thought that the lightless prison was going to be my last stand. My last home.

That was, until, they came. The Jedi.

I sighed. "They told me it was by the Republic's orders that I was to be stationed on the Spire. I know languages and skills that these worthless people lack so...I _don't _know. I was just shoved here like predisposed waste."

The two left it at that and were silent once again to my relief. I leaned forward and held my chin with one hand, my eyes wandering. Suddenly, I felt as if I was being watched and flicked my eyes towards the two soldiers in front but they were both looking at the ground in disbelief. I turned to give the Jedi Battle Meditator a look again and when our eyes suddenly met, she turned to stare at the wall.

_Okay...?_

I mean, I _know_ I'm handsome but this Jedi didn't have to make her desires obvious...

**W**

Commander Carth Onasi acted exactly as I expected of a Republic officer. His face reddened when he saw us pile out into the Endar Spire's main hanger and was looking at all of our faces with rapid discontent. He hadn't expected us at all.

When Bastila finally walked down the ramp with a dozen Jedi trailing behind her, the commander had a fit.

"What is the meaning of this?" he argued. I could swear his frown fell to the metal floors below. "Bastila Shan-"

"_Commander_ Bastila Shan, Carth Onasi. Admiral Dodonna has given me permission to use your ship for this mission."

The Jedi all walked past us normal soldiers like we were specks of machine dust and surrounded Bastila protectively. I rolled my eyes for the hundredth time. I was thirsty. I was starving. Could we just skip the pleasantries?

The old commander looked as if his ego had been shattered by a wild blaster bolt.

"M-_my ship_? What are you talking about? Why wasn't I informed? And what mission-?"

"We need to get going, Captain. We have a long journey ahead of us and I would like to get there before Malak finds out that I'm out of Coruscant."

Onasi's mouth flapped up and down like a Manaan fish out of water.

"Who are these people? _Besides _the Jedi you've decided to force onto me," he sneered, glaring at us who were looking at each other in confusion. After all, it had been the Jedi who had hijacked the transport shuttle like some, _oh wait_, smugglers.

The silky voiced Jedi sighed. "Not now. I will tell you everything once you start putting in hyperspace coordinates."

"And where are we going, exactly?"

I was curious about this and apparently so were a few others but the commander Jedi merely shook her head.

"Not now. In the bridge."

She started walking forward and was followed by the many bodies of robed Jedi leaving us non-force-sensitives behind. Carth-the old commander now apparently-looked so hurt that I was actually beginning to feel sorry for the older man. I mean, none of us really asked for this. I sure didn't.

The ex-commander sighed before looking up at us poor souls.

"Someone have the roster?"

The dark haired soldier I talked to before came up to the captain and handed him a data pad. With a quick read through of it, he nodded his head at the ranks and began dividing us into shifts and places within the ship. I wasn't surprised when I was last to stand there, sweating slightly as the last commander read over what was probably a record of my past exploits...

Instead he raised his eyebrows. "Multiple languages?" he asked.

I smirked, happy that he hadn't come across something worse. "Born and raised in the Outer Rim. That sort of skill is required in Deralia."

The commander was shaking his head in bewilderment. "But it says here you know over _hundreds _of languages from Shyriiwook to Twi'leki-"

"As I said, Outer Rim."

I don't think this commander believed me because when his suspicious eyes left the data pad, they stayed there for longer than what was comfortable. He instead went over my other apparent "skills."

"You repair? What type of repairs?"

I really didn't want to go over _everythin_g I could do. We could be here for days. In fact, I might as well tell him my proficiency in Pazaak. Useful skill...

I gave him an impatient look. "Droids. _Most _droids. I'm not much of a software machinist if that was what you were looking for."

Onasi nodded a few times though I could tell he was still angry over the Jedi deciding to take over his ship like some sort of...smugglers-again. He checked my record over until I noticed him narrow his eyes.

"...you were added _today_."

I wasn't sure if that comment was just to himself for he looked up and gave me a data pad from a steel table being led by a T3 unit. Since I never really had the Republic issued data pads, I had to fiddle around with it before I left under orders by the commander to go over my schedule and shifts.

I was not excited about this at all. In fact, I wanted to find a Jedi and force them to explain why they decided to bring me along with them. I mean...the Republic _might_ need more people with language proficiency and repair specialization but were my past crimes so easily forgotten?

As I walked the sterile and too clean hallways, I began to wonder why I had been so easily forgiven. And...what happened to the crew that _betrayed_ me? Were they still in prison where they belonged?

Something told me in the bottom of my dark heart that there was something else happening in the shadows.

Something even the Republic wasn't aware of.

* * *

**A/N: I rarely have seen any first person perspectives of KOTOR or any smuggler versions of it, so I put both together and viola! Also, it's obvious that I will write events differently than they were in the game-would you like to read the transcript of the game, dear reader? I think not!**


	2. Escaping the Spire

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

* * *

**Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic**

Four thousand years before the rise of the Galactic Empire, the Republic verges on collapse. DARTH MALAK, last surviving apprentice of the DARK LORD REVAN, has unleashed an invincible Sith armada against an unsuspecting galaxy.

Crushing all resistance, Malak's war of conquest has left the Jedi Order scattered and vulnerable as countless Knights fall in battle, and many more swear allegiance to the new Sith Master.

In the skies above the Outer Rim world of Taris, a Jedi battle fleet engages the forces of Darth Malak in a desperate effort to halt the Sith's galactic domination...

* * *

**Strong Winds**

* * *

**Chapter One**

_My vision blurred. _

_My hands, shaking. _

_I saw the commander, Bastila Shan-she really did have a pretty voice__ -li__ghtsaber flaring. I swallowed as the __sparks__ flickered into my face like beads of sweat and __the __body of a dark figure fell to the ground._

_"__Shan__?" I asked though no one around me answered. Like I was some ghost._

_I suddenly saw the colorful skies around me. Red laser beams mixed with green blurred my __field__ of vision like mist and I tried shaking my head but I couldn't move. I just stood there. Like a statue. _

**W**

The ground below shook.

I jumped up then back down without even bothering to open my eyes.

A week had gone by of space travel and we were apparently heading towards some planet in the Outer Rim. Just where I belonged. I was convinced that the Commander was wasting her time going all the way out there. What type of Jedi mission forced the Battle Meditator away from the war?

The room shook again and I opened my eyes, confused.

The dark haired man and his friend were gone-they had similar shifts as me. We were supposed to be resting now though. Clothes were strung about along with open trunks. What was going on-?

My eyes caught the windows and I could only stare as my sight flashed back to the nightmare I had. Colorful red and green lights. A twisting ship.

I jumped to my feet in fear and panic. Oh Force...they were attacking the ship! The Sith! I wasn't supposed to get my neck into this sort of trouble. Don't they protect the Jedi Bastila? How _stupid _are these soldiers? This couldn't have been the mission, could it? Why hadn't anyone woken me up?

As I went to grab my pistol underneath my pillow, the strong gray doors slid open. The Endar Spire's shields were hit again and I tripped, falling onto my face as I went to rummage through my trunk at the end of my bed. I had been given limited supplies of course, including a standard issue Republic uniform that I ignored. Already, I had been given a few "demerits" because of it. Well, they should have at least given me a better blaster...

The soldier who stepped through the doors looked unfamiliar. He stood there appearing like a veteran and his golden hair was freckled with pure white-he looked like he was from Aldaraan. His face was frantic.

"What are you still doing here?" he demanded me. "I thought most of the soldiers had already evacuated."

As I was recovering, pulling over a shirt, I glared at him from the floor.

"No one. Woke me. Up. What in all of the hells is going on? And who are you?" I asked, grabbing my red jacket. This veteran didn't look as if he was in the mood for jokes though. Actually, he was looking at me as if I was some lazy ass hut from Tatooine.

"What is-you don't _know_? The Sith are tearing the Endar Spire apart in search of Bastila, what do you think?"

Well, I was thinking that maybe I would get a more in-depth explanation than that but apparently he thinks I'm an idiot. Another explosion from a fighter rocked the unstable ship, causing us both to shake. I grabbed my pistol again after dressing and began storming towards the door that this man left open.

I jumped when it closed.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked. "We need to stick together! Are you insane?"

I turned my head to glare at him as I rummaged through my jacket pockets. _Shit_. I forgot to go ask for a key from the bridge. I knew procrastinating that important task hadn't been smart. I just didn't want to see the commander and Onasi's face again.

I punched the door.

"Open it-"

"Ensign Trask Ulgo. And you must be Gale my new bunkmate. We worked opposite shifts. Guess that's why you haven't seen me before."

Yeah, I didn't give a _fuck _why I couldn't recognize this veteran. I just wanted to get on the next escape pod out of here. This would be my only chance to jump onto whatever planet was below and escape. I would never have a better chance.

I banged the locked door again.

"_Trask_. Open the damn door."

He pursed his lips then finally began making his way over to the panel "You're that smuggler the other soldiers have been talking about, right? Heard that the only way the Republic could capture you is if they hired you."

You got that right.

I remained silent as the man overrode the emergency locks and the door slid open. "We have to go find Bastila and make sure she's alright. She's the only hope the galaxy even-"

"I don't give a shit about what hope the galaxy has. I'm heading for the escape pods."

The hallway before us had been blown to pieces and a T3 unit was rolling against the wall, burning. Electrical units steamed out the needed oxygen we all breathed-explaining why the door suddenly shut in my face. I jumped suddenly when a cold barrel of a blaster touched my neck, my mouth agape. This man wouldn't...would he?

Before I could try and reason with him, the cold metal hit me over the head-hard enough to hurt but not enough to knock me down cold.

The Endar Spire rocked again. I held the back of my head with both hands, glaring at this ensign with my full fury.

"What the-?"

"You are a recruit of the Republic now. And, I don't know _why_ you've decided to take it upon yourself to act like a selfish bastard but where are you going to run when the Sith are boarding the ship, huh? Do you even know your way there?"

My face turned into iron and I could almost feel my face burning when I realized the truth in the man's words. No...I didn't know where the escape pods were. I couldn't figure out the Republic's data pad for the life of me. I felt like such an idiot and my pride suddenly left me like blood flowing out of a wound.

I had been so ready to rush ahead into the action that I had forgotten which direction to go in.

I bit my tongue. I knew I was going to regret this later.

Huffing, I stood up. "_Fine_. We'll find your Jedi princess. Lead the way."

**W**

The grenade thrown exploded and almost blinded my senses as I dove away, using my blaster to force the Sith in black armor away from the wall we were using. A few ensigns and other soldiers were blasted into flesh and blood-smoke only remained from where five men had once stood.

I swallowed down fear and raised my blaster again, however, my aim had been too shaky to deliver the Sith down into the graves they belonged in. I heard Trask beside me curse as another grenade was thrown towards..._me_.

My eyes widened and before I could mutter even a final prayer to the hell that awaited me, a strong red and yellow body collapsed on top of me-a blue shield encircling him. Another flash and the Sith that were shooting at us were torn to pieces as well.

I shuddered, my hearing gone, as I looked up at the ensign who saved my life for some reason. He only smiled and deactivated his shield, blood rushing down his scalp.

The only Sith left had been the one throwing grenades. Ulgo took him out with an easy shot and I got up, still shaky.

The ensign took my hand. "Easy there," I heard his dull voice, my ears still ringing. I gave him another suspicious look while I threw my hand back from his grasp after I was on solid ground. He only frowned at me in disappointment.

"Don't help me. I'm fine," I shouted over the loud explosions from inside and out.

The ensign sighed, re-gripping his blaster.

"You know, recruit, you remind me of myself when I was your age. Brash and self-assured like the Admiral herself was going to give me a medal for simply acting brave and stupid." The ensign bent over the dead Republic soldiers and closed a dark haired man's eyes-Force, it was that one man who sat in front of me before. Trask stood, his eyes heavy with sorrow. "I learned, however, that stupid men don't win medals. Brave and honorable men don't either. So, I forgot my bitter attitudes of the past and only served as any Republic soldier would."

I rolled my eyes as I grabbed the Sith's better looking blaster pistol and took the charges out of my old one. _Brash and self-assured_. I wasn't sure if those were compliments or insults. It was hard to tell when such qualities were vied for in the smuggling trade.

This Trask Ulgo was too full of himself. Republic soldier? What better way to bind yourself to a dying age. Only the stupid were proud about serving in the army. I knew a few deserters that came to the Outer Rim to escape persecution and the stories they told-of both the Mandalorian War and this Sith one-were not pretty. Most of them were tragic. I was only glad that I was born in Deralia and not forced into the army like most other people in the Republic. However...that really didn't stop the Mandalorians from taking over the planet anyway.

I began walking again only to stop at the sound of raving sparks. My heart jumped into my throat. There were Jedi Sith here. Ones with lightsabers. I could never hope to defeat one of them. We would die before we could even scream...suffocate in our own throats-

The ensign heard the battle sounds as well but instead of running away from them as I intended, he rushed ahead, slamming his fist into the door's emergency switch.

"Are you mad?" I shouted over the sparks of red and blue.

Trask only widened his eyes in response and held up a hand in front of me as if I would actually go in and join that.

"Stay back. There's a Jedi here. Maybe she can help us."

I really was not in the mood to deal with Jedi...but who else could protect us from the Sith? Especially one with a lightsaber.

But...I could see that the Jedi was losing. Badly.

With a invisible push from the dark Jedi, the bald man with a malicious grin took the blue lightsaber right from the woman's grip as she hit the wall, distracted by us. The Jedi bitch? My eyes widened and I hadn't even realized when I raised my blaster and shot off a round at the Sith.

...Am I stupid? Why was I trying to pick a damn fight with a _force user? _

Even Trask was looking at me like I was a moron and my shots only ringed back into the metal and broken walls of the Endar Spire by the Sith's bright blade. He was walking towards me...with a grin on his face that sent shivers down both of our spines. My hands were shaking when the charge on my round ran out, the blaster dropping from my hands like worthless weight. I was dead. _So_ dead.

Trask was frozen beside me-he hadn't even begun shooting at the Sith, the bastard.

I suddenly felt an invisible force grip my neck and my eyes widened when I was forced against the wall, my breath escaping my lungs. I gripped my neck desperately, my eyes wild and trying to find Trask. However, I had no idea where he or that other Jedi was...

The darkness surrounding this dangerous man was flowing out of him like rivers. I wasn't afraid more about the way he was somehow choking me...but how the darkness whispered to me from his yellow eyes. The Sith was still smirking at me and before he could stab me with his pretty little saber, a blue light replaced his neck and burned his face in half as it exited.

I fell to the ground in great shock, coughing from both fear and pain, glancing up in pure gratitude. I might have been a smuggler, but I was a smuggler who repaid his debts. Smiling up at the Jedi bitch-well no, she really wasn't a bitch now, was she?-I stood up shakily as her blue blade returned into its metal casket.

Her face was dark yet relieved.

I sucked in a long needed breath. "T-Thank yo-"

I hadn't noticed...but the blaster fire had sparked right above the Jedi into the electrical circuits. My eyes widened but before I could warn her, a loud explosion ripped beams and walls from above her form...and fell directly onto her, crushing her beneath hot steel.

I rushed quickly towards the flames in sudden horror only to be pulled back by Trask.

"Stop...just don't, recruit!"

"S-She's dying-!" I shouted back. We had to help her...I didn't even care if she had been kicking and shoving me only days before. She didn't deserve-!

"We can't do anything for her. This hall is going to collapse on us any second if we don't move now!"

I-I just couldn't believe this. Her death was _my _fault. If I hadn't...been so stupid and shot back at the Sith...

This was no time for regrets.

I was pushed to the side of the burning wreck-the Jedi's shouts haunting me as I ran past smoke and fire, my jacket singing. My mind was racing as I almost tripped over a loose beam but was righted again by the figure behind me.

I felt something-a vibroblade?-fit into my hands as Trask came alongside me, hitting the button to the bridge of the Endar Spire.

The place was swarming with Sith but no Bastila. _Of course_. I knew we were supposed to go for the escape pods in the first place. I shouldn't have followed this stupid ensign...

Almost out of habit, I lifted the vibroblade up as another one came crashing down towards me. I was suddenly struggling with a black masked Sith, my strength faltering only slightly...enough for me to step away from him in time. Ulgo was fighting another Sith and had been powerful enough to smash the sharp blade into the armored face of his mask.

Another explosion rocked the ship and I slipped in my defense, the blade nicking my shoulder. Sucking in a pained breath, I pushed harder and kicked the Sith into the fires that appeared behind him.

I had to admit...I liked listening to that man's screams.

I rubbed my brow from the sweat but I hadn't had enough time to even breath when Trask grabbed me by my injured shoulder-to my great disdain.

"Go, go! They've probably gone to the escape pods. We have to leave!"

"I heard you the first time!" I shouted, the ship rocking again.

I had no time to argue with him as he ran past me, another explosion breaking part of the Spire's shield. We weren't going to last another thirty minutes.

I ran after him over burned bodies and half dead men I couldn't afford to help save. I only hesitated for a second as one of the sergeant's hands reached out to me.

I felt a pull on my red sleeve.

"Come on! We can't save them!" Trask shouted.

I wasn't a saint, I couldn't waste my time with already doomed men. I looked after myself and myself alone...and this Trask was only putting himself in danger for reminding someone like me.

Trask already had the door opened and he ran ahead into a less broken down hall compared to the bridge. Ulgo closed the door behind me when I finally ran past, pressing a red button for the emergency air lock. He knew the ship was going down. _I_ knew the ship was going down. What hope did we truly have to leave here alive?

"Shit..." I muttered to myself, bending over my knees. When I first came aboard the Endar Spire, I thought that I would just be accompanying an annoying Jedi and her stupid Republic friends. I hadn't been expecting a _war_.

Trask was gazing at me sympathetically.

"We can't save everyone, recruit. I'm sorry about the Jedi...and the other soldiers, but Bastila is the only person standing in Malak's way. She needs every able bodied soldier at her disposal."

I looked up to glare at him. I wasn't sure if what he had just said had been completely cruel or completely right. This Sith war had put a toll on the Republic's numbers, I heard, and the power they used to hold with the people was slowly crumbling as the Sith fleet destroyed everything in their wake.

I coughed. "But-maybe..."

I was stupid to even argue. I just...only remembered being abandoned to my death by complete bastards myself. What gave _me _the right to decide who lived and who died? I wanted to save everyone now it seems-I guess even my own morality was to be questioned.

The ensign shook his head and explored the room, opening a door that probably led to the escape pods. However, before he could go through it, he spotted the other door beside it and tilted his head in curiosity.

"Wait," the ensign suddenly called back to me. "There's...someone behind here."

I swallowed because I believed him...there was another presence on the other side of the door. I could feel it...a dark whisper and mist that threatened to intrude my mind. My skin suddenly grew cold...even with all of the fires that surrounded us.

"Trask...don't-!"

The door suddenly opened and yellow eyes and pale skin of a Sith Master revealed himself in the oxygen smoke. I could feel myself suddenly shaking in pure terror as the Sith with golden eyes stepped towards the ensign only for him to hit the red button to the door again.

"By the-" I began only for Trask to turn around and push me through the other door that led to the escape pods. Off balance, I fell to the ground, shocked.

"Hurry, get to Bastila and make sure she's safe. Find Commander Onasi...anyone. Just go. Run!"

I narrowed my eyes at this stupid man. What was he doing? Did he think he was a hero risking himself? What sort of person would place a smuggler before his own skin? Why not lock me in the room while he ran off?

"Are you crazy?"

"No."

And without another word, the door suddenly closed in my face, leaving me bitter and wordless. How-? Why was this happening to me? I didn't deserve this. Why-? I banged at the door.

"Trask!" I shouted. "You bastard!" He had been serious about leaving people behind...including himself. Swallowing, I realized that staying put would only mean Trask Ulgo's death had been in vain.

I began running down the hall both lost and frozen in my face. I...wasn't used to these people placing their lives before mine like the heroes they were pretending to be. What was I supposed to do? Become a hero myself? Was Trask stupid? There was no hope left for me! Why-?

What should I do? I felt lost and helpless. Go after Bastila? Find the Commander?

What else _did _I have left to do?

**W**

I was breathing heavily against the locked door and spoke lowly into my comm.

"You sure they're behind here, Onasi?" I asked, peering past the metal as if I would be able to see past it.

I heard a quiet crackle on the other side.

"_Yes. They've been trying to get to the escape pods. Fortunately, they won't be expecting someone sneaking behind them."_

I smirked at Carth Onasi's frantic voice and nodded to myself before eyeing a stolid broken droid, bent over from the dead mechanic on the floor who had failed to defend himself from the Sith. The droid looked almost complete-the back was open and only a few bolts need to be spun into the hard drives.

I pressed the comm button. "I have an idea. Hold on, Onasi."

A few minutes later and the droid finished taking down the red and black armored Sith-just as the door on the other side opened for them. Unfortunately, the droid only had enough juice for a few skirmishes and drooped down into it's undead looking format. Once the smoke cleared, I saw the orange jacket form of Carth Onasi-the same man I met before coming onto this ship.

I ran over towards the ex-Commander, smiling.

"Got em'," I muttered, stepping over the red body of a Sith captain. This Carth glared at me over smoke and returned his gaze back to a computer. His fingers over the keys were hesitant yet quick and when he finally pressed something that appeared to be an enter key, he looked over towards me, slightly relieved.

"You're that new recruit..."

"Yes, now can we get a move on? We don't have time for long introductions-"

When the Spire rocked again-my eyes widened as the shields finally broke.

_Shit_.

Carth saw this as well and rushed towards an escape pod-the last one. I ignored the fact that he had waited for me to come here and slipped past him when the circular doors opened like the jaws of a firaxa shark.

I had no time to secure myself when Carth jumped in as well and hit a yellow button. A ear-piercing explosion ripped through the thin walls of the pod and both of us held on as we began to plummet away from the space junk that was now the Endar Spire. Startled, the gravity wells that held me to the Endar Spire suddenly disappeared only to be replaced by the shocking rush of force that shoved me into the back of the pod.

The ground of the unknown planet outside was the last image I saw before all grew dark.


	3. A Sith Party

**Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic**

* * *

**Strong Winds**

* * *

**Chapter Two**

_My vision blurred. _

_My hands, shaking. _

_I saw the commander, Bastila Shan-she really did have a pretty voice__ -li__ghtsaber flaring. I swallowed as the __sparks__ flickered into my face like beads of sweat and __the __body of a dark figure fell to the ground._

_I suddenly saw the colorful skies around me. Red laser beams mixed with green blurred my __field__ of vision like mist and I tried shaking my head but I couldn't move. I just stood there. Like a statue. __M__y hand lifted-a dark hand. __ Thathand then became a strong fist._

_I was...chocking someone? With the Force?_

_I was moved again and I saw a man-like that new recruit-holding his neck as he hovered feet above the ground. A crack resounded along with the __explosions__ and he fell to the floor, eyes glazed. _

_I was holding __the __yellow lightsaber now. I had no idea where I was truly supposed to be. My mouth opened and I realized that I was the commander._

_"You cannot win, Rev__a__n," she shouted above the laser__ f__ire and smoke._

_The dark figure turned then, red lightsaber blazing. I could feel the grip around the pure Jedi lightsaber __tightening__ and swallowed when the dark masked man from nightmares and hell held his lightsaber above his head in a strange stance. _

_I then had a red lightsaber in my hand. My grip was steady yet...shaking. I-He was afraid? Why?__ I was powerful enough to bleed this Jedi... She wanted to __stop __me, I knew it. She wanted to ruin everything just by her presence. __T__he Jedi sent _her _for a reason. _

_I barely could do anything when I heard a large sound that sho__ok__ the ground beneath my feet.__One look out into the glass and my heart suddenly sank and my eyes felt...wet? Why?_

_A shot of pain__-_

**W**

When I had been younger, I had wanted to be a hero. I remember dreaming of one day saving the galaxy with my own two forceless hands. I wanted to prove everyone who thought I was weak and incapable, wrong, and become a man that my parents would have been proud of.

Instead, I became a disgusting smuggler-ignored the slave trade and at times dealt with the Exchange. Ironic, huh? My life had always been ruled by my surroundings and I still wasn't sure if that was a bad thing. I lived for the cash that flowed through my hands and the quick words I would use to trade my earnings into spices and stolen kolto. I never batted an eyelid at the Sith worlds before-I hadn't even realized that there was anything more to them then gold credits and evil smiles. And the ensign just threw himself to the feet of one of those evil bastards...without a second thought.

Trask had begun to open my eyes a bit.

Maybe...what I had been doing before I came into the Endar Spire had been wrong. Maybe...I was in need for a change. And become the hero I had once dreamed to become.

But, of course, all people are marked by what they were before. Trask had been a foolish Republic soldier once. Now, he was dead and gone after he sacrificed himself. _For me_, the disgusting smuggler who had tried to escape from his grasp the first chance he got.

What type of bastard was I? _Huh_? That should have been _me_ facing that dark Sith, not Trask.

I was a coward, wasn't I?

All of these thoughts pounded into me as soon as I felt my heavy eyelids crack from sleep crust. The smell around me was old yet metallic, the fabric beneath me scratchy yet clean. My tired eyes noticed the nicks in the silver steel above me-a ceiling made most likely a few centuries ago.

W-Wait...did I just dream about that Jedi again?

I could feel shifting away from the bed I laid upon and sat up, tenderly holding the back of my head, feeling a large bump and dried blood. Where was I? Was I alive?

My focus adjusted to the orange jacket man who sat over a data pad in the corner, flicking the screen once in what appeared to be boredom. The moonlight was pouring into the tiny apartment room-the night life of whatever city I was in echoing into the skies.

For a second, I couldn't recognize the man sitting in the chair.

"W-who-?"

Oh, he's Carth. Carth Onasi. The commander. Right. I shook my head only for me to seethe in pain, clutching my forehead like a festering wound. The sound of my shocked voice attracted the officer.

"You're awake," he said. He placed his data pad on the desk beside him and stood, heading towards me. I gave him a strange look as I sat up more- my red jacket was missing.

"W-where am I?" I asked, my voice still shaken by what had just happened. The ex-commander crossed his arms and sat down beside my bed, looking off into the distance.

"You're on Taris, the planet the Endar Spire was dragged to. You've been out for a few days already so I guess you wouldn't know that. You must have been having quite the nightmare though. I haven't seen anyone that animated in their sleep since...well..."

I flung my feet over the side of the bed, getting a better view of the broken down place the commander had brought us. A workbench along with separate halls for either the bathroom or a kitchen became apparent, my red jacket laying across a dirty and broken chair like a forgotten item. I grinned slightly at the sight, standing up in slight pain. Carth's eyes followed me like a kath hound's.

"You're lucky I wasn't seriously hurt when we crashed. Before the Sith could come and investigate, we were long gone."

The jacket was ripped in a few places, like the collar and the back, but the pockets were intact and the item inside remained. I pulled the raggedy jacket inside my arms and shook it into place...then I went towards the exit.

I felt a rushed hand grab my shoulder.

"Where do you think you're going?" Carth demanded.

I huffed, shaking his hand off my shoulder only for it to replace itself. This guy...what did he want? The Endar Spire was gone...so now I could be free to do what I wanted here. He couldn't stop me. _No one_ could stop me.

I turned to glare at him. "I'm leaving this dump. Maybe go to the next system. I'm not sticking around though."

Carth smirked-why was he smirking? That was what I did.

"Well, you have to stick around unless you want the Sith to blast you out of the sky. Taris is under quarantine. Malak is looking for Bastila and unless we get our act together, we will have no chance at finding her."

I gave the soldier an incredulous look. Bastila was actually still alive? I wasn't exactly sure about that. After that long and dangerous drop to the ground, I wouldn't say she would be healthy either. What annoyed me the most was the continued talk about the Jedi. Couldn't the Republic fend for themselves and not rely on the robust Jedi powers for their battles? What happened to military geniuses like Revan or Malak...?

Oh, right. They decided to attack the Republic instead.

Shaking my head, I looked to the side of Onasi's face.

"Can't this Jedi take care of herself?" I asked.

Carth narrowed his eyes. "Yes...but she's important for the war effort. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sure. Now...why do I have to help you?"

"...Huh?"

I looked into his eyes.

"What's in it for me?"

"For _you_?"

I gave him a humored look in response, raising my eyebrows. Smirking at his disgusted expression, I went over to the couch that he had been sitting in and jumped into it, flinching at the slight pain. I took the data pad that laid on the table beside it and glanced briefly over what was on it.

"Of course. Who do you think I am, a _normal _Republic soldier? I don't live off rainbows and sunshine, orangy," I said, my eyes flicking down the screen, avoiding the soldier.

"W-wait just-_orangy_...what? Are you _serious_. After I just saved your ass-"

"I didn't ask you to save me," I said. I was reading over the policies of the Sith-apparently they broadcasted the new laws of the land all over the Net. People were reporting in Republic soldiers by the dozen-escape pods were stripped clean and the residents were killed immediately. Unless, of course, Bastila was among them. In which case, they wouldn't kill her.

I groaned. "I didn't ask you to save me at all. In fact, I don't owe you a credit, a thumb, or a life. So, I ask again, what's in it for me?"

Before I could even look up information about a pod that fell into the Undercity, the data pad was suddenly grabbed from my loose fingers. Carth's face replaced it and he looked furious.

"Don't touch my stuff," he demanded. Well, someone's a bit bitchy now...

My lips thinned when Carth shut the data pad down and sat across from me in the last couch left. "Who are you anyway? I saw that you were put onto the roster a day before we left on the Spire. You say you aren't a normal Republic soldier so...who are you then?"

I looked away from the commander. "Ha, I see. You're changing the damn subjec-"

"Answer. My question."

Now, this was tricky. Since this planet was indeed quarantined like the ex-commander said, I would probably have no hope escaping the planet, smuggler or not. Already, reports of the automatic turrets blasting frantic ships to smithereens circulated the Global Net in Taris. Now, maybe this Bastila could be my ticket out of here. Including her Republic friend.

If I just told Carth "well, I'm a smuggler so you should trust me, alright?" that would get us nowhere. Especially since this soldier appeared ridged and unwavering in his choice of morals.

When a minute had past of me thinking, a bit too long unfortunately, I shrugged.

"I meant that I _think _differently compared to a normal Republic soldier. Of course I'm one..." I mean, it wasn't as if I was lying, really.

Onasi didn't look convinced as he sat back in his seat, weaving his fingers together.

"I see."

He really didn't see anything though, did he? He stood up then, his face appearing strained whenever he was looking at me. "You probably already know my name, but I'll say it anyway. I'm Carth Onasi, Republic fighter pilot and once the commander of the Endar Spire."

"Wes." I responded shortly. "Wes Gale."

These introductions were rather awkward after we already had such a major discussion though. Heading towards another bed after that weird moment of silence he grabbed two blasters and slid them into their holsters. I then realized, with a suddenly horror, that I was weaponless after the escapade inside the Endar Spire.

A sudden rattle beside me brought my attention to the ratty table. An old looking blaster sat there, a few nicks in the handle-probably by some gang member.

I gave the officer a strange look.

"We should probably go armed around here," he said. "Taris isn't exactly the warmest of places."

He didn't have to convince me of that twice.

**W **

"So, you say that you're a soldier," he began, shouting loudly over the cantina music, "but, you don't seem to know the proper way to treat your upper officers..."

When we both left the apartment the soldier had found, Onasi decided to lead us into the cantina in order to scout out for information. He already said that he had an idea of where Bastila might be, however, in order to get down into the Undercity, we would either have to join the Sith (not an option) or start something in the middle of the Uppercity's streets (which was just plain stupid).

All elevators down were blocked off, all aircraft was taken by the Sith. The moralistic soldier already visited a shop in order to find a speeder however even those had been taken away and embargoed. I was starting to despise these Sith. They really were thorough, weren't they? And this Malak was desperate to get his hands on that Jedi. I was actually beginning to feel as if we couldn't do this. After all, it was just us two against the whole Sith army. I once gambled a little in Tatooine and the odds did not look pretty. Not pretty at all.

I pretended not to hear the soldier over the terrible sounding rodians and twi'lek.

He must have repeated that sentence twice before asking the question directly into my ear, the dark strands in my scalp rising.

"What the-!"

"Answer the damn question already," he seethed.

Rolling my eyes, I raised a hand to the scared looking human bartender then asked for a drink.

"I was a new recruit, remember?" I reminded him.

"You must have at least taken military schooling in Coruscant for a few years. The newest of recruits know the regulations and their duties because of it. Unless of course..."

I took the last phrasing of his sentence gladly, rubbing my chin. "...I'm a genius. That's right. So, I didn't need to take your stupid schools."

Carth narrowed his eyes at me and when my drink arrived he stopped the glass from sliding all the way to me. I gave him a frustrated look.

"Hey..."

"Do you think I'm an _idiot_, recruit?" he asked lowly. I looked quickly between his face and the drink and sighed, sitting back.

"You know, _you're _the one who's pointing fingers and asking personal questions. How would that make you feel if I suddenly asked if you were a real recruit?"

"What...that doesn't-that doesn't even make any sense! I've been in the Republic army since the beginning of the Mandalorian War."

Heh, he's ancient, isn't he? I would have probably killed myself already if I had to spend years in the Republic's army. And in the Mandalorian War..._yeesh_.

I smirked, crossing my arms. "Then you know that the Republic is desperate for soldiers. Talented soldiers. Like me."

I could see the ex-commander roll his eyes in the corner of my vision.

"You have the ego of a bantha."

_Hey, I take that as a compliment. _

I reached over and grabbed my drink, gaining no resistance from the soldier. He was pondering something deeply. Maybe he would think up an idea for our escape? I hoped so...I wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible. And then, once I separated myself from the Republic and the Jedi, I would go back to doing what I did the best. Smuggle.

A few off-worlders like us were arguing with an off duty Sith. Their shouting almost drowned out the annoying band and before any of us could blink, blaster fire stung the poor man and he fell down in pain. The people around-the Uppercity's tight lipped nobility-took no notice of what would normally be a crime in Coruscant or any other Inner Rim planet. Of course...this was normal behavior for me.

Not to the soldier.

"This place is disgusting. The rich treat aliens and strangers like dirt while the Lowercity dwellers gang fight and murder on the streets. The Sith occupancy hasn't helped this planet at all."

I smirked, shaking my head as I held my drink. "What exactly did you expect ofan Outer Rim planet, _commander_."

Since he wanted to be so renovated by his position, I might as well sneer at him with the word.

Carth looked over his shoulder to get a better look at me. "You were born in the Outer Rim, correct?"

"Deralia."

He must not have had a clear memory. Either that or I made no impression on him which I doubted. He sat back as I took a sip of the beer.

"That planet was attacked by the Mandalorians in the war, right?" I paused as I was drinking and glared at him from my cup. "Actually, now that I remember it, Deralia was one of the first planets-"

Ignoring the spill as I slammed the beer down, I stood up and began to walk away from this man. He was getting too up in my personal space. Who did he think he was asking all of these questions? I was fine with the suspicion about my occupation but Deralia? I didn't want to be reminded of that. Ever.

When I felt a hand on my shoulder, I turned around quickly.

"Look, _mister paranoid_, I don't want to answer every one of your damn questions-"

"I-I'm sorry. Did I interrupt something?"

A dark haired and easy smiling woman was behind me, holding an untouched drink. I was shocked that she hadn't been Carth and looked back at the bar to see the ex-commander still sitting there...with my drink. He better pay me back the credits on that.

I looked back at the sweet woman. "I...no. Sorry about that. It was just...an annoying friend of mine."

And I say _friend_ with the broad definition.

She was dressed in civilian clothing...was she a noble from the Upper City? She didn't have the same expression as all of the other people around here.

I straightened.

"Ah...I see. We all have those sorts of friends, don't we?" she coughed once, placing her drink down onto a table. "You know, this planet is rather dull. And the cantinas...crowded. We should have put a curfew on this disgusting planet when we had the chance. Of course, we didn't and still the people complain."

She was a Sith? Suddenly, my opinion of this woman changed and all I could see was a black armored machine. However...I looked back towards Carth who was looking in my direction with a tilted head.

I rolled my eyes at him.

The woman was still talking..."The higher ups are all so serious. Why can't we just relax for a little? It's not like the Jedi is going anywhere."

I smiled at her and I could barely see her cheeks glowing underneath the weak cantina lights. Heh...she was smitten by me, wasn't she?

"I totally agree. I mean, if you go around with a negative and paranoid attitude all the time, then what's the fun in that?"

I said all of this while looking in Carth's direction. Take the hint.

The woman's face brightened. "Right! It's all about attitude. You know...you really seem to understand how I feel about this. You're an off-worlder, aren't you?"

I hesitated at this question before nodding my head. "Pretty much. And I've been _so bored _just sitting around not really doing anything. So, I understand where you're coming from."

I suddenly noticed how close she had gotten to me and my smile grew. Hook line and sinker.

"Really? Well...tonight at midnight we're having an off duty party with my friends. Though, I really don't know many people in my shift so I'll be kinda lonely. Why don't you..." her face was even closer to mine, "...join me?"

"Gale."

My heart jumped when I heard Carth's voice and backed slightly away from this woman. I recovered quickly and waved a hand towards the ex-commander.

"This is my friend that I was talking about. You think he can come with us?" I asked.

The woman frowned as she took stock of the confused looking middle-aged man. I could see that she didn't really find anything attractive about him. Though...I didn't know why that was important.

"I guess...just so long as he stays out of our way. So, you'll be there in an hour? My apartment is just a few blocks away from here. The old Republic estates. Room B-145."

"Of course," I replied with my easy smile.

The woman faintly blushed then left the both of us with slow steps. My grin was still plastered on my face as she left and when I saw Carth giving me a knowing look, I scowled.

"Shut up," I said.

He held up his hands. "I didn't say anything."

"You were going to."

**W**

True to her word, the Sith party was held in B-145.

I couldn't believe our luck that some Sith woman fell in love with me. And no...Carth could keep his damn thoughts to himself. This was for his apparent mission. I'm not going to be falling in love with some Sith woman. In fact...I'm not going to get that romantic at all. Yeah...and once I told Carth this he shook and held his forehead with one hand. The elevator stopped at floor B.

"You really think I believe all of that crap? How is a party _with the Sith_ going to help us find Bastila exactly?"

"Shut up, I'm thinking, all right?"

He liked to put people on the spot, didn't this bastard? Wasn't he the supposed "commander?" Why didn't he think up a way for us to escape?

We both stepped out of the elevator and spotted where the party was immediately. A dark helmeted Sith bouncer stood before the apartment doors, the flashing lights and electric music vibrated the entire floor. I couldn't help but smile as soon as I saw the party and looked back towards Carth who was shaking his head.

"I'm too old to be doing this..." I heard him mutter.

I took that as an invitation to stride forward with bigger steps, leaving the man behind. The Sith bouncer held up a hand when I came up to the door, my own hands in my red jacket pockets.

"Who are you, spacer?" he demanded, the helmet distorting his voice.

I looked back at Carth who was giving me an evil eye. He obviously didn't like being left behind.

"Um...well," I began weakly.

"He's a friend, Rion," called out a familiar voice.

From the loud music and flashing lights came the same woman I met before-her smile and blush even clearer in the party lights. I wondered if she was drunk. Well...that would make my job easier now, wouldn't it?

I smiled at her and nodded as I walked past the Sith who was still holding tightly to his rifle. Some people..._really_.

I wasn't surprised when the soldier stopped Carth as well. Unfortunately, the Sith woman had gone into the apartment so I was left staring towards him. After a minute of him arguing with the Sith I sighed.

"Alright, alright, he's with me, okay? Just let him through."

Carth stepped towards me, giving me a dangerous eye. "Force...why didn't you just say something?"

I shrugged. "You deserve it."

About twenty Sith were at this supposed party. The bass of the music was turned completely up and I was afraid that my own heart might hop out of my chest and onto the floor. Cigar smoke drifted from the corner and a few people were laughing at the couch, including the woman. I smirked then turned around to pat Carth quickly on the shoulder.

"Well, I'll be going now. Have fun, orangy!"

I went to turn around but his voice called towards me again.

"What are you doing?" he asked, glaring at the spot my hand left on his orange jacket.

I turned all the way back around again.

"Trying to help you get information. My way."

The older man grimaced. "Just don't get too carried away. We aren't here for fun you know..."

I rolled my eyes then turned to walk away. _He's kind of a party-pooper, isn't he_? Come on Carth...learn how to smile at least a little. These military types always take their duties too serious. _Really_.

The woman sat beside another man-one who was smirking towards my direction.

"You're the one Sara was talking about?" he asked.

This man had his arm around the woman Sara and was giving me a knowing smile that pissed me off. Immensely. I glared back at him then back at this Sara who was smiling towards me. Had she been flirting with me before? Was this her date? I thought she had some sort of crush on me...

As I pondered whether or not I had been duped, Sara held up a green bottle.

"The Sith really do pay well for this crappy job. Tarisian ale has to be one of the best distilled ales in the galaxy."

Her "partner" laughed. "Well...don't let Jiora hear that. What a light weight..."

I felt out of place in their little group. Hadn't she said that she would be lonely here?

...And _no_. I hadn't planned on anything serious. I wasn't _that_ desperate for a woman's affections.

When she started pouring out shots, I caught Carth's eye from across the room. If there was one man to avoid in this party, it was the ex-commander. When it came to socializing, the soldier definitely wasn't up to par, creating a crater around where he was sitting against the wall. And that glare he was giving me wasn't helping his chances.

I sighed. At least _try_ blending in, Onasi.

I sat down beside Sara and she slid the shot glass into my hand. "Here. Try it. You... _probably _wouldn't get another... _chance_..."

What? Are you insinuating that I can't afford this? Well, I am pretty much poor now but I used to have riches worth more than this building in a single cargo hold before it was blasted away. Including Tarisian ale.

I remembered what this substance did. And it was already having its effect upon the woman and her friends. So, I laughed, nodding my head, and drained most of the ale onto the floor. And no one batted an eyelid. This Sara was chuckling and bending over my knees in her drunken stupor, her partner giving me a dangerous eye.

This was all too easy. Actually...by the end of this night, I wouldn't be surprised if everyone was unconscious.

_Meanwhile_..."So, I hear the Sith fleet is looking for a... Barista? Balista?"

"Bastila. The Jedi. No one can find that bitch though. Without her, we have to stay here in this _dump_. Why did I even join the Sith?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. Why did you?"

She laughed as she tried pouring herself another shot but spilt most of the clear liquid onto the blue carpet.

"My planet had been taken. The Sith would've killed me and my family if I didn't join up. Not really a problem though. We're going to win anyway."

I remained silent, glancing towards the wet spot on the floor. For some reason...it sort of disturbed me that the Republic was beating back soldiers who didn't even want to fight and were forced to. I had no idea who to blame, really.

Before long, the entire room except for Carth, the bouncer, and I were in a drunken sleep. And yes, Tarisian ale really did pack that much of a punch. I tried the substance and...let's just say that she and her friends won't remember my face in the morning.

Carth glanced towards me as I stood and walked towards something that looked like a wardrobe. I already had an idea about getting into the Lowercity but I needed something...

Taking the black suit from the wardrobe, stepping over uncomfortable looking bodies, I took off my jacket. The commander was giving me a curious look.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

I gave him a blank stare.

"What do you think, genius?"

I pressed a switch near the side and the armor fitted to my size, the helmet covering my head. My vision was given a blue tint-night vision and I turned to look at Onasi. Throwing him a higher ranking Sith uniform of a captain, he gave me a funny look.

"You really think this'll work?"

"I don't know...these Sith are _pretty_ dense," I responded.

I stepped away from him, climbing around bodies again. I pulled out my old looking blaster and tapped the bouncer's shoulder with it. Then, without warning to him, I smashed the Sith against the outside wall and looked at him directly through his and my mask.

"This didn't happen, right?" I said pointing the blaster into his face.

Surprisingly, the Sith responded in a non-shaky voice. Actually, he sounded sort of like a droid...

"This didn't happen."

"And you won't tell anyone."

"I won't tell anyone."

I paused, lowering the blaster a bit.

"_Okay_..."

This was a bit _too _easy...I looked towards Carth who was raising an eyebrow in my direction. I shook my head as I released the Sith. Since he seemed so compliant...I turned to point towards the half empty bottle of Tarisian ale. "I won't believe you until you drink that, got it?"

The Sith nodded. "I will drink that."

Okay, maybe he was already drunk...I gave Onasi another look but he couldn't see my expression so I instead looked back down at the Sith who opened his visor to drink the strong ale.

Soon, even he went down.

Smirking at our good fortune, I searched the bouncer for his weapon and took the charger out of it, storing it in my jacket pocket. After making sure the blaster was secure in my red jacket, I threw it to Carth who had to catch it. He was as useful as a traveling cargo ship, wasn't he?

"How did you do that?" he asked, glancing at my jacket with a confused look.

I paused, holstering my blaster. I squinted at his expression before realizing that he was more angry looking than confused. The blue tint of this armor will be hard getting used to...

"Do what?" I responded.

"Make that Sith do what you wanted him to do. What else?"

I rolled my eyes under the mask though, of course, the soldier couldn't see that motion. You know...that's pretty convenient. I can make all the faces I wanted to in front of these idiots and no one would be the wiser...Why haven't I thought of using masks and helmets before?

I smirked. "I'm just talented. That's why."

"Really?"

I paused. I mean...maybe this guy was just scared of me. I mean, I probably looked intense in this uniform. But...something told me that all of this had been a bit too easy. Like...I had distorted his mind somehow.

Ha, but of _course _I hadn't done anything. He probably had too much to drink already. Why else would someone be as docile as that bouncer? Though...I do remember that bouncers don't usually drink themselves...

No. He was drunk. That was it.

So, I glared at the ex-commander closely but, of course, he didn't see that threatening expression.

"_Really," _I said with great conviction. "He probably wanted to drink the Tarisian ale all night but no one offered it to him. The poor guy. So, really Carth. You need to observe what's around you a bit better. And I thought you were a pilot."

The response from the soldier was impatient looking. He obviously believed that I was one of the Sith or something. I mean if I was a Sith, convincing another soldier to do what I wanted to would have been easy.

Instead of waiting for his response, I pointed to the Sith uniform he was holding along with my jacket. "Get dressed, orangy. That jacket of yours makes you stand out."

The pilot gave me a heavy sigh before looking down at my own jacket that I had given him. After a few seconds, he threw it back at me.

"Carry you're own crap," he muttered.

**W**

The Lowercity reminded me of my old ship's atmosphere. Try as I might, it was hard not to smile underneath my helmet as both Carth and I walked carefully through the dangerous halls. We probably looked abnormal since Sith didn't usually carry blasters as their main weapon but the Sith guarding the elevator hadn't even batted an eye. Hadn't even asked me for my name or the reason why we were going down there. Of course, this was all in the art of human smuggling-play upon people's expectations.

Carth was ahead of me in the Sith uniform he reluctantly put on-our own jackets left in the apartment.

"We need to gather information about Bastila, Gale. Remember, that is our main priority here," he said, glancing off past me.

I gave him a pitiful look that, of course, he couldn't see.

"What do you think I'm doing? I don't see _you_ looking for anything, mister commander," I responded, re-gripping my blaster within my hands. Somehow it felt as if my black gloves were getting sweaty just by walking down these halls. The insulation that was above in the Uppercity was nonexistent down here. Fans whirled above us, sure, but that only blew hot air down. And the Sith armor wasn't helping.

I finally had enough of the helmet-no matter how much I enjoyed making faces behind the commander's back-and pressed a button to release myself from the inner humid atmosphere.

Carth glanced behind when I stopped and gave me another "why don't you just behave?" look.

"What am I-? _Look_. I'm the only one who is actually taking this seriously," he said, his voice rising. He then sighed, muttering something underneath his breath. "Out of _all _the people in the Endar Spire, I had to be stuck with this nerf herder of a child..."

Ignoring that slightly insulting comment, I walked up to him, wiping my forehead of the sweat that accumulated.

"Taking this seriously? Of _course _I'm taking this seriously. I take everything seriously," I said, pointing a gloved finger in his direction.

This commander was fucking hard to convince.

"You know, I really find that hard to believe. You have a questionable background in the Republic Navy, you agree to joining Sith parties, easily convince one of them to do..._whatever_, and smile and joke about this along the way. You just-you don't even _know _what the Sith could do if or when they find us, do you?" He took a step forward, his brown military eyes set into his face like a brick. I gave him back a similar look, my ever smiling face suddenly decaying.

"The Force can do terrible things to a mind. They could wipe out your memory and destroy your very identity. When the Sith finds me or you or Bastila...what do you think is going to happen then?"

I swallowed deeply and looked away, remembering that Sith on the Endar Spire...and his face as he was chocking me to death with his Force powers. The pale man was smiling at me...almost as if my own pain was amusing to him. From that experience alone, I knew that I was afraid of these Sith. And...if they caught me with Carth then I would be subjected to their tortures. Who knew what they could do to us just to get information about the Jedi?

I really, _really_, didn't want to know the answer to that.

I looked back at Carth and the expression on his face was exactly as it had been when I looked away. I was stubborn, truly. How I acted when events didn't really go my way...I knew that I could be improved. But...what was I suppose to do? Just mope around and hope that Bastila will come waltzing into my arms?

Before I could give Carth a proper response, a red light from above took me out of my reverie. I turned around quickly and brought up my blaster.

Down the hall of the old Lowercity balcony, a battle had just begun.

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys, hope you're liking this take of the KOTOR story. If you do, or if you want to tell me how to improve or how you reacted to the story, please give me a review :)! I will keep writing no matter what, but I just want to see some feed back. See you until next chapter-the Vulkers and Mission Vao.**


	4. An Odd Pair

**Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic**

* * *

**Strong Winds**

* * *

**Chapter Three**

I ducked quickly when another beam shot out from the scuffle that was taking place down the hall. Carth had moved right about the same time when the laser beams missed their intended targets and went for us.

Rodians, beks, and Twi'lek were battling it out in the middle of the hall. Since I had no idea who to shoot, I kept my weapon close to me in case one of the gang members over there decided to get a little trigger happy.

I glanced over towards Carth on the other side of the hall and his focus was all on the battle a few meters away from us. I looked back and saw that the dark blue and black dressed aliens were overpowering the brighter colored ones. Fortunately, none of them really noticed the Republic soldiers that were hiding beyond the hall.

I heard a few alien curses that would translate into standard "shit!" I gave the soldier another look that he didn't notice before I moved forward, still on guard. Hearing a forced whisper from behind that I ignored, I stood up, my blaster in my raised hand when the darker dressed gang members shot down all the other aliens they were trying to kill.

I figured that since I had experience with gangs before I could reason with them.

Oh, how wrong I was.

I gave them a nervous laugh when they all looked at me.

"...no need to shoot us. We're not involved-"

"A Sith! Look _scum_ we don't want to pay you a single credit, you hear!"

"Wha-?"

I slid backwards, my eyes widening, when one of the aliens went for me with a stun stick, intending to claw me apart from tooth to groin. Wow, really? I thought...well I did sort of forget that we were still dressed like Sith. I just didn't want to carry around the armor. Fine, call me lazy, I don't care.

I pressed a switch on the Sith armor to activate my helmet and the blue shield as I ran back, cursing as a red blaster shot skimmed the surface of the armor. Carth was already shooting with his duel blasters and the only remark he made of my return was-

"You idiot."

I sneered, breathing heavily as I just missed getting a blaster bolt in my back.

"Shut up," I muttered.

Look, _soldier_, I know that I sometimes think too far in advance. And I figured I could handle the situation. ._And _I forgot that I was still wearing the Sith's armor. It's not like he wasn't wearing anything incriminating himself.

I joined the fight and shot off a round at some fat looking Twi'lek, two burnt holes appearing in his forehead. I smiled at my precision and ducked back as the aliens returned fire-a grenade finally added to the party mix. I sighed. As if there wasn't enough fireworks already.

I looked over to see how the normally orange Republic soldier was doing only to find that he was putting new charges in his right blaster. I took a quick glance past their firepower and saw that five of the criminals were still standing. Force, how tough were these guys? I...don't really remember normal gang fights even lasting this long in Coruscant. Actually, I don't even remember those gangs having proper weapons not to mention _grenades_.

When the blaster fire ceased, I took my chance and pulled the trigger of my old blaster. Another alien went down with a mark between his eyes. Carth, meanwhile, missed them entirely even with the extra coverage of two blasters.

I realized-maybe a bit too late-that the four of them were drawing closer. Cursing, I grabbed a cortosis knife I always kept in my boot and held it in my left hand while I tried shooting through the smoke the grenade created. If they wanted to get closer, just wait until I clawed their eyes out of their sockets.

Suddenly, all grew silent. I dared myself to peer out and see why the party had stopped. My curiosity was greeted with four corpses, all with blaster holes in their heads. My eyes widened as I took in the scene and glanced towards Carth who held his blasters up with a creased brow.

And then, like a ghost from a haunted drifter ship, a short man in a blue coat stepped out of the smoke holding a long blaster in his gloved hand. He wore perception goggles that covered his eyes and a white turbine looking thing that probably covered a bald head.

Confused and worried that he would shoot at us, I stuck my blaster out and turned on my shield again as I stepped out of cover. Carth was giving me another look that said I was stupid but I ignored the precarious man.

"We yield. Hold fire!" I shouted over the settling noise of broken machinery. This man still kept his blaster up and pointed in my direction. Mentally crossing my fingers that he wasn't a bloodthirsty psychopath, I edged forward again. "Look...thanks for taking out those-"

"I'll count to three and if you don't make yourself scarce, I will kill you."

Wait...w_hat_? What was this guy saying? And counting to three? What did he think we were, children? I glanced towards Carth who had already stood up and was heading towards my direction. He looked like a soldier with a mission if that was what those eyes were telling me.

"One," this man said, raising a finger like we couldn't count.

"Look...we can talk this over-"

"Two."

Suddenly, I felt something strong pull my blaster arm and began to tug me down the hallway. Surprised, I was forced to follow where my arm was going and frowned when I realized it was Carth who was leading me away. Hey! At least tell me when we run away. I mean...was that guy really serious? Was he going to kill us after he counted down? I mean...I knew a lot of insane people but that was just crazy!

"Force...just _stop_ alright. I'm not going to go running back to that weirdo."

When we both turned the corner to the long balcony hallway, the soldier released my arm and looked behind me, taking in a deep breath. I leaned against the wall and took inventory of what happened to the suit after that battle. Part of the shield was damaged when I checked the percentage and my blaster charge was still going strong. Other then that, I was doing surprisingly okay health wise. And when I looked towards Carth he looked about the same.

He shook his head in mild astonishment. "I can't believe that man is still alive..." he muttered to himself.

I glance back at him, curious. "You know him?" I asked, pressing a button to open my helmet up again. The commander's frown was strained and his grip on his blasters tight...as if the short man would coming walking towards us at any second.

"He's Calo Nord. An infamous bounty hunter. The holonews gobbles him up like rare steak in Coruscant. That man...he kills then disappears into thin air like a phantom. Apparently, he works for the Exchange too and deals with smuggling and counter-fitting. We're lucky we even got out of that encounter alive."

I swallowed and looked down onto the cold steel floors. Calo Nord? Why haven't I seen or heard of this man before? I mean I worked as a smuggler myself, so wouldn't I have run into this bounty hunter? Though...rarely did I ever pay attention to Coruscant and their news channels. I lived for what happened on my freighter ship and the goods that I ferried between Sith, Outer and Inner Rim worlds. I didn't really care what happened at my destinations otherwise.

I looked up when Onasi moved and looked down the hallway-we had taken a different turn from where we had come from. Down the hall, loud music and seducing laughter flowed from a cantina-the rodian bouncer watching us like a hound. Since it was in the middle of the day, I was surprised that there was actually people around there..

I gave Carth a sneaky look and he sighed, shaking his head.

"Take this seriously, recruit."

I looked away from him, a smile still on my face. "I always take things seriously, Onasi."

**W**

This cantina was different compared to the Uppercity snobbish one. Smoke drifted around tables and twi'lek girls danced around poles to the sleezy music from a warm tuba. I took the time to sniff the alcoholic and hormone infused air. I smiled. Now this, _this _was home.

Carth stood beside me like my grumpy old father who was confused over the idea of bars and girls. I strode foreward and eyed the Pazaak tables with an eagerness. Unfortunately, I couldn't play because my deck blasted to pieces along with everything else that I owned. Maybe it was for the best-I didn't have credits on me to gamble anyway.

The fake Sith officer beside me was giving me a look as I eyed the gambling and dancing tables. I could only predict what was going through his mind.

"_Force, what an irresponsible nerf herder..._"

And, again, I will tell Carth's thoughts to shut up. I'm just _looking_ alright?

We were still in the Sith uniforms so we were getting rather strange looks. I tried my best to ignore a strange two faced alien's eyes (four-or five?-of them) as I walked past-telling myself to look as evil as possible. I think it was working too because a few people were looking away quickly-a few even widening their eyes when I glared at them. I nodded to myself. Yep, I pulled off the Sith look. Definitely.

I'm not sure the _commander_ liked that of course...since he was glaring at me again.

Unfortunately, my sense of intimidation didn't last as a wookie over seven feet tall stood before me like a carpeted wall. Oh, and crawling with fleas.

"You're a..._"_ the wookie began in his growling language.

"Big Z!" called a voice from the dancing floor's entrance.

The wookie gave me a single suspicious look with his dark eyes before turning around and answering a blue twi'lek that was about half his height-rather comical looking.

The wookie stood before a group of blue and black dressed rodians whose antennas suddenly shivered as the walking fur blanket stomped with heavy feet.

"Mission_," _he said in an annoyed voice. "I wasn't done with lunch and now I have to scare these Vulkers off again?_"_

To the untrained ear, the wookie's voice sounded menacing and threatening. I glanced towards Carth and he looked pretty sure that the beast had said "_roar, I eat people for breakfast."_ The rodians were all looking between each other as if they didn't know what to do.

The twi'lek, her lekku swishing over her shoulder, smirked.

"Come on, Big Z. They don't really deserve _that_, right?"

One of the green rodians turned almost a beautiful shade of tin when the twi'lek said that and was shaking his head.

"N-Now look here, little girl. Stop hiding behind your walking carpet-"

"Big Z?" the girl said, looking up. The wookie growled something-he was just saying that he was hungry again. The rest of the rodian group blanched.

"Alright, alright!" the leader shouted, motioning his head towards the others behind him and began to walk past both of us. Looking away, I stuck out a happenstance leg and tripped the alien, causing him to land directly onto his face. His friends glared at me with red and black eyes and I only shrugged. It was just an accident. Really.

When the alien got up, he looked ready to punch me but the large mammal behind my shoulder reminded him that the wookie would probably tear off _his _shoulder. The rodian and his friends ran away like Standard school bullies.

Smiling, I turned to face the twi'lek and her companion. Both of them were eyeing us with suspicion-the wookie especially didn't appear as if he trusted us. This twi'lek, Mission apparently, was giving her wide blue eyes a look at out Sith armor and frowned, complexed.

"You're Sith, aren't you?" she asked me.

Well...that was what we looked like now I supposed. I was starting regret keeping these uniforms a long time ago.

My brow furrowed when I realized something...

"You speak fluent basic...?"

Wait...but how come I hadn't realized that before? I shrugged mentally to myself. I was too used to my brain translating the languages for me. It was one of the skills that I always had-learning and speaking languages. I would soak them all up like a sponge in kolto. One of the bad habits that had grown into me over the years was that I could barely differentiate between the alien and Coruscantian way of speaking. After all, it was the trade language it was also one of the reasons why I made such a great smuggler.

The twi'lek was looking at me strangely.

"So what? Is that weird to you or something? I don't know about you, but I just think it's easier to speak this way, you know?"

"We should go, Mission," the wookie said drawing closer to me, threatening me like those other rodian bullies. "These Sith aren't to be trusted-"

"Whoa, whoa, don't go! We aren't..."

Well, how was I supposed to convince them of that when I just waltzed around here like I was a proud Sith soldier? I looked towards Carth and the only answer he would give me was a exasperated sigh. Thanks...thanks for the help, buddy.

Instead, Mission tilted her head and looked up towards the wookie.

"You understand Big Z?" she asked, her voice suddenly becoming brighter. Even the wookie was giving me a surprised yet...not as threatening look. What...when was understanding shyriiwook a trusting thing?

Carth looked back and forth between the two.

"How did a wookie and a little twi'lek girl get together anyway?" he asked, genuinely looking puzzled.

"Probably by walking into a bar somewhere..." I muttered to myself, smirking. Carth heard me however and he gave me a small glare.

"I'm not a little girl!" she shouted back at Onasi, causing the normal cold-looking soldier to back up slightly in warm surprise. "And I take care of Zaalbar as much as he takes care of me."

I looked towards Zaalbar but he didn't seem to look like he wanted to confirm that apparent fact. He was rather quiet...for a wookie.

When I glanced back at the two, Carth's face had grown red but otherwise he stood down. There, there, I'm sorry a little twi'lek girl has beaten you at the word and ego game. You just weren't cut out for it. I looked back up at the massive fur wall.

The wookie growled. "Can I go back to eating now?" he asked.

Mission sighed before shaking her head, the lekku bouncing. "Whatever, Zaalbar. Just don't eat the entire menu like you did last time. Pacing, Big Z, pacing!" She gave me a look, crossing her arms when the wookie went back to a booth in the corner. "You aren't Sith, are you? Sith don't understand wookies and Sith don't talk this kindly to people. So...who are you guys?"

I sighed. That would be a long story. I sort of appreciated this girl's perceptiveness though. I was getting tired of convincing idiots.

Carth took over this side of the discussion and sat down at a booth, the teenage Mission sitting across from the soldier. Since neither of them were scooting over, I stood over them like a frozen statue.

"We...aren't exactly-"

"We're Republic soldiers," I interrupted Carth, glaring at him. I didn't want to waste time with words. Might as well get to the point with this girl. She didn't really look that patient either.

The soldier's mouth remained open as he stared at me with open hostility.

"You-"

"Let's not dance around the subject. We need information, don't we?"

Mission was suddenly interested in the both of us and bent over the table, leaning her chin onto her open blue palm.

"Republic soldiers?" She smiled. "Oh, so you're one of those people the Sith are looking for. From the escape pods."

I smiled back. Well, there went half of the story that we were going to tell. I was already liking this resourceful little twi'lek. Nodding my head, I attempted to sit next to Carth and he grimaced when I came a bit too close to him. He finally slid away and gave me space.

"We shouldn't be telling the whole planet this, _recruit_."

Um...that really doesn't offend me since I never wanted to be a recruit in the first place so...And why shouldn't we tell people? If we didn't trust _anyone_ then we wouldn't get anywhere.

Mission frowned and shook her head. "Don't worry. The Hidden Beks don't really like the Sith so I'll keep quiet about you two."

I gave Carth a victory glance however this soldier's boundless amount of paranoid energy was infinite in scale and dangerous in level. Yeah...not really good qualities in a Republic commander. No wonder the Republic was losing.

Carth was giving me a look as if I had said all of that aloud.

"Well...fine. But we came down here in search of Bastila Shan. She should be somewhere in the Undercity. Do you have any idea how to get down there?" the soldier asked, bending over the table.

The teenage twi'lek looked concerned.

"Wait...Bastila? The Vulkers' share of the swoop race prize?"

Both of us looked at each other simultaneously and then glanced back at Mission. We immediately began bombarding her at the same time with questions.

"You know where she is?"

"Swoop race prize?"

"Is she alright? Is she safe?"

"...What _kind _of prize?"

"Who are these Vulkers?"

"Is it something humiliating?"

Carth glared at me after the loud question session we had with Mission. What? I was interested...

Mission sat back in sudden shock, looking between us as if appearing to wonder which question she would answer first.

"W-Wait just...guys...just one at a time..." she rushed, finally convincing us to quiet down.

Carth took the chance and spoke up first. "Where is Bastila?" he asked, sitting back and crossing his arms as if he was interrogating her. Come on, orangy, she's just a kid...

The twi'lek looked between us then sat forward again. "She's the Vulkers' share of the victory prize. You really shouldn't get involved with them though. They used to be a part of the Hidden Beks before Brejik...well, betrayed us. All of the gangs in the Lowercity are now placing their stakes in this race and your Republic friend-Bastila-is one of the prizes."

I gave her a look from the side, holding my chin.

"You're talking as if you're a part of the Hidden Beks...but you're not, are you?"

The twi'lek looked at me, shocked. "H-How did you know that?"

I shrugged. To me, it was pretty obvious that she wasn't a part of any gang. I didn't see any symbols on her nor was she even old enough to participate in gang warfare. Of course...age didn't really matter in Outer Rim planets when it came to crime.

Since I was leaving her question unanswered, she turned to look at Carth.

"I can take you both to the hideout if you want. Gadon wouldn't mind a few Sith uniforms as tribute though...maybe Zaedra..." She paused then waved a hand. "Nah, you'll be fine. Just behave and they'll all welcome you with open arms."

I really doubted that would happen. I looked towards Carth and he didn't look convinced either. Mission stood and looked towards Zaalbar who was pigging out on nerf steak steeped in spicy durosian sauce. She grumbled when she saw too many plates stacked onto the table.

"Ugh...Big Z. I _told _you-"

"I paced myself. Promise," he responded, chomping the steak whole and almost consuming the fork with it. I looked between the both of them, smirking slightly at the skit they were putting on for us. The twi'lek stomped over to the giant fur mound and took the saucy plate and shoved it on top of the others...then glanced at the bill that sat on the table.

She was seething again. "When I said _pace_, Big Z, I meant a _normal _person's rate of digestion. Not yours."

The wookie wasn't too happy and stood up, grabbing a credit slip from his belt and placing it onto the filthy table.

"I'm paying, don't worry," he said quietly.

"You better."

While their conversation was interesting, Carth appeared lost over what they were even talking about. The soldier wasn't really missing much though since the large beast barely said anything anyway.

When the waitress came to pick up the bill, Mission stomped ahead of us-intent on leading us towards the Hidden Bek base. With one final glance towards Carth and Zaalbar, I shrugged and followed the energetic kid.

**W**

We had been walking for hours-taking rare stairs down into the heart of the Lowercity and riding elevators down into unknown territory. Swoops and speeders raced past us with howling drunks and laughing scantily clad twi'leks. The further we went down, it seemed, the darker the halls became.

I walked closely behind the duo of twi'lek and wookie, glancing about while holding my blaster close. I wasn't taking any chances. The commander beside me was holding both of his blasters with an even tighter vice grip then my own.

Mission and Zaalbar on the other hand were walking through the halls like we were skipping through the beautiful fields of Alderaan. How could this little kid be so...relaxed? She was starting to creep me out a bit...

When we suddenly stopped, I gave the twi'lek girl a strange look. Carth hadn't even noticed the sudden movement to begin with and was still walking.

"We're here!" she announced.

I glanced around. Mission...there were only walls and crazy swoop drivers around here. I really hope that this girl wasn't crazy too. I was was starting to get rather tired of-

"Look kid...can you stop leading us to nowhere?" Carth muttered, his voice sounding tired. The Tarisian sun was probably already setting in the sky-yes, that's how long we'd been walking.

Mission narrowed her eyes. "I'm not a kid and I _am _leading you somewhere. Just watch."

The blue twi'lek rubbed her hands together and licked her lips. She then stomped the ground in a strange rhythm. After she did this off beat five times, lines suddenly appeared below us stretching across the floor like little hair strands. I looked at the commander and the commander glanced wearily back at me. Mission-the masochistic little twerp-smiled as the very ground below us began to shake and propel downward.

A hidden elevator? When I looked up, what we had thought was the solid ground closed with a mechanical noise, orange lights flashing. Mission was still smiling as if she had invented the idea.

"The Hidden Beks live in an old shopping center-they used to use these elevators to bring high priced speeders into stores. And all the doors into the old shopping center collapsed. Pretty smart huh? Makes a perfect hideout for us."

I would normally agree with her but she was still scaring me a bit with her excited passive nature.

After only a few floors down, a mechanical sound flipped and we were suddenly moving horizontally instead of vertically. Carth jerked beside me-the motion coming as a surprise to him. I smiled behind my shoulder towards the commander and received a look in return. The commander's eyes must hurt after glaring at me so much...

This elevator was a bit wobbly...I wondered how old this place was.

"Hopefully Gadon will accept you guys. If Zaedra bothers you...don't worry. She's sort of like an older sister to me so I'll try convincing her," she said.

"You mentioned a Brejik before," Carth said, "and he used to be a part of the Hidden Beks?"

The Twi'lek's energetic face suddenly wilted and the long hall that we twisted in shuddered slightly from old age.

"Brejik...Gadon treated him like he was his son. Of course, I hadn't known him personally before he fell, but other Beks have told me that he was reckless and immature. Even so, Gadon wanted him to be his successor and when he got into that swoop accident...well, Brejik wanted to take over. Gadon said no of course-the Hidden Beks were fine as they were-but Brejik didn't agree. So, he stormed off and joined the Vulkers and now they're even more powerful than they were before."

All four of us couldn't help but jump when the lift stopped before a cargo looking door and opened up into the ceiling like an ancient garage. Mission strutted in when the door opened enough for her to slide through and waited for us taller folk beside the door.

When the garage finally opened enough for the wookie to step through, I followed the fur ball out into the open space that was the Hidden Bek base.

So much was going on at once. Twi'leks and humans were all busy either talking or working on swoop bikes or taking breaks and eating. They were all dressed brightly in reds and yellows-colors that reminded me a bit of the Republic soldier uniforms. An ancient looking repair droid was messing with a panel, flickering the old plasma lights above our heads, yellow sparks raining down.

The blue twi'lek was leading us towards a slick looking swoop, a bald white eyed man and a pale twi'lek stood beside it. The swoop's duel engines were turned on and a repair man was underneath, screwing something onto the bottom.

"The accelerator will have to be placed below the pit in order for both engines to maximize the output," the mechanic said. With a swift nod from the twi'lek, the repair man turned on the beamed screw driver.

Mission waved at the two over the loud buzzing.

"Gadon! Zaedra!" she shouted. Both of them in turn faced Mission with worried eyes-the older twi'lek giving both of us a glare.

The man-Gadon-called for the mechanic to stop repairing the swoop and walked over towards us, the pale twi'lek touching her blaster quickly.

The twi'lek was first to speak. "Mission, why have you brought _Sith_ into the Hidden Bek base? You _know_ that you're not supposed to bring in outsiders unless we give you permission first."

The blue girl crossed her arms and pouted. "I'm not a kid, Zaedra. And these people aren't Sith. They're Republic soldiers."

The older twi'lek gave us a second look as if reconsidering us. And then, as if I was some sort of trigger of evil, she looked back at the younger twi'lek.

"You don't know that. The Sith are known to be great deceivers-"

"Enough, Zaedra, if these men were truly Sith then they would have started threatening us by now. And I have all of the Hidden Beks and you to protect me."

Carth took a step forward past the wookie. "We were wondering if you knew about a Bastila and where the Vulkers might be keeping her."

This guy really only cared about Bastila at the end of the day, didn't he? Maybe he had some sort of crush on the Jedi...Not that I really cared if he did. It was his funeral.

Gadon looked towards the both of us before nodding at the repair man to continue.

"Let's go where we have a bit more privacy."

I looked back at the mechanic and realized that he was adding more parts to the swoop bike-a larger engine looking thing sitting beside him. Was that the accelerator? I didn't really know much about swoop parts-I mean, I occasionally gambled and watched swoop races before. Most of them were held in Outer Rim planets since the Republic banned the dangerous sport-the races usually had a death or two if not half of the participants on bad days.

Have I considered racing? _Maybe in hell_. Humans, apparently, were not good at the sport-we had slow reflexes compared to other alien species. It was one of the reasons why I hated swoop racing since I was already supposed to be bad at it to begin with. I was supposed to be good at _everything_.

The Hidden Bek leader Gadon was leading us into a small office-the automatic doors swishing closed behind us-Zaalbar was forced to be left behind due to his size. No one paid the wookie any mind though.

Gadon sat carefully behind the glass desk, Zaedra holding her blaster close.

The leader sighed. "For the love of-Zaedra, put that blaster down!"

"I won't until these two give us a good explanation."

A good explanation? Really now? And when have _words _ever convinced a person to act? I smirked before pressing a button, the Sith armor dis-expanding into the smaller version. It still weighed a ton of course. Kicking the armor towards them I looked at Carth expectedly. Since his uniform was his clothes, he would be in his underwear if he offered the outfit now. So, he just nodded his head.

Just picturing that scene almost made me crack up.

"Here, this good enough for you? These weren't ours to begin with anyway," I said.

The older twi'lek took a second to hear my words while Gadon's previously unsure face brightened. Zaedra hesitated before hefting up the armor and placed it down onto the desk.

"Well..._fine_. Whatever. I believe you."

Something told me in her tone of voice that she didn't believe me at all...I glanced towards Carth and he looked like he had come to the same conclusion. I mean...what Sith would give up his own armor? This twi'lek was almost in Onasi's level of paranoia. _Almost_...the commander was still in the lead.

Suddenly feeling exposed without the armor or the sleeves of my jacket, I crossed my arms.

"So...Bastila is a prize in the upcoming swoop race," I began casually.

Gadon nodded his head-his eyes looked pretty weird as they glanced towards me. Their motions sort of looked mechanical. I blinked a few times, tilting my head. "What's wrong with your eyes, old man?"

The twi'lek growled. "Don't you _dare_ insult Gadon you worm!"

I was making an _observation _not an _insult_ you _bitch_. I knew if I said that, however, she would probably shoot my balls off.

"Zaedra, it's alright," Gadon didn't look too perturbed compared to his bodyguard. "I was blinded by flying machine parts during a swoop race just a couple of years ago. My eyes have implants and I can see just fine...but I can never race again."

While that sounded depressing and all...it was his fault for even trying swoop races in the first place. I mean, only suicidal people tried those...just as it was suicidal to jump off a fast moving collapsing ship into the ground below...

And _no_ that didn't happen to me.

For some reason, Mission was hiding in the corner, Carth's body hiding Zaedra from her angle. She probably thought that the older twi'lek would yell at her for leading us here. For some reason, as I frowned, I felt a little guilty about that.

"Anyways, I'm sure you don't want to hear anything about me," the Bek continued. "You want information on that Republic soldier, don't you?"

I tilted my head. "Republic soldier? But Bastila's a-"

"Yes, we do," Carth interrupted, giving me an eye. He really wanted to hide the fact that she was the Jedi everyone was searching for? I mean...these guys didn't look malicious. Compared to those Vulkers, they were much better when it came to morals. Probably. I mean, a man could hope, right?

Challenging his look, I gave up with a sigh. There was just no point in arguing with this guy.

Gadon raised his eyebrows. "Well, we have no idea where your friend is. Brejik is probably keeping her locked away somewhere nice and safe. We won't see her until the race."

Carth frowned and took a step forward. "She has to be down here somewhere. We don't have much time-"

"If you go off and steal the Vulker's share of the prize, Brejik will point his finger at us and all of the neutral gangs will fall into the palm of his hand. We can't afford to go against this tradition."

Carth grew red. This Gadon probably knew where she was but, because he didn't want us ruining his little gang war, he wouldn't tell us anyway. This guy was a sneaky bastard, wasn't he?

What were we to do now? I asked this mentally to Onasi but he remained oblivious to my silent question. When I looked over towards Mission, her eyes appeared to glow. What type of idea had she thought up? It didn't look good...

"I know!" the little teen suddenly shouted. "One of them could win the race and get their friend back! And even if a Bek won we could still give her back to them."

I found it kind of interesting how she was referring to the Jedi like some washed away and lost item. And I didn't like the idea of entering in a swoop race. At all. Carth didn't seem to like the idea either, his own face paling.

I laughed nervously at Mission's idea. "Um...but we don't have a swoop bike and...I'm not suicidal."

Gadon smiled at my statement. "Well...we could fix that problem. Do you remember that swoop we were working on? That bike is custom to this course and is being fit with a high-tech accelerator as we speak. However...no one has volunteered and is crazy enough to ride it. Those accelerators have been known to be..._unstable_ in the black market. We will give you this swoop if you want. We have no other spares."

I turned my head quickly to glare at him. This guy had his bases covered, didn't he? As if participating in a swoop race wasn't crazy enough...he was also offering us a self-exploding bike?

Hmm...I wonder: do I burn myself slowly or implode myself with a grenade and get it over with? Which one sounded better? If I was to be honest-and if I had to do it-I would choose the swoop bike. But I didn't have to do it and I wasn't going to do it.

Carth, however, was intent on getting his precious Jedi back.

"We'll do it," he said.

I turned to glare at him. "We _are not_ doing it. Do you know how crazy a swoop race is not to mention participating with the ticking time bomb?" I looked away and back towards Gadon. "You must think we're stupid, old man."

"So you won't? This will be the only way you can get your friend back. You sure?"

Oh _come on_. We can find Bastila with or without the Hidden Bek's help. This guy was making it sound like we had no other option.

Carth glared at me as if he could read my mind. "We're doing this. We have no other choice, recruit Gale. We aren't getting off this planet without her anyway."

I could feel my face turning red with anger but I kept my thoughts quiet. After all, there was only one swoop bike. He could ride it to his death if he wanted to...but _I _wasn't going to sacrifice myself for some Jedi.

Gadon looked between us, confused. "Whatever you decide to do, the swoop race is tomorrow evening. You don't have much time to fight between yourselves."

"Tomorrow?" we both shouted simultaneously.

Wow...we were really cutting it close there. If we hadn't found Mission today, the Jedi would probably be long gone into some strangers hands. Carth would have failed his little mission and I might not have had a good chance of getting off this planet. I was beginning to wonder when our apparent luck would run dry.

Mission was beaming beside Carth and Zaedra-who had been silent during this discussion-was glaring at me.

"You can't be serious, Gadon. You're going to make an outsider ride that bike?"

The leader of the Beks sighed and shook his head. "Do _you_ want to try riding that swoop bike, Zaedra?"

Her silence was an answer enough.

"I don't have much time to prepare, huh?" Carth muttered.

I glanced towards him then rolled my eyes. You were the one who asked for it. If you die in this race-I'm going to just screw the Republic and the Jedi and try to find my own way out.

Mission was smiling towards Carth. "You're going to be riding that swoop bike?" she said. Her voice sounded almost disappointed...what, had she wanted me to race? Heh, no way. Not in any hell or any planet. The Sith could erase my memories and I would _still_ not do it.

The commander sighed then shrugged. "I...guess so."

* * *

**A/N: Don't worry, I have something different planned for Zaalbar's capture and the reason why they go into the Vulker base in case anyone was wondering. **


	5. The Undercity

**Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic**

* * *

**Strong Winds**

* * *

**Chapter Four**

The night was quiet.

I could barely get any sleep what with my fate being decided tomorrow. I was just outside the base beside the balconies where the Beks took their swoops for secret test runs. Touching the cold metal, I gazed out intently-it wasn't as if I was searching for something. No...I was too tired to even think.

Before, when I tossed and turned in the Bek's spare bunk, I had been thinking about how the swoop race would turn out tomorrow with Carth attempting to win. _Carth_. He had no chance of winning-pilot or no. But-maybe-I could. I know, it was crazy but I just hated it when I put responsibility into other people's hands. Funny, that feeling. Like a tiny tug inside my heart that was telling me to _stop_.

If I couldn't do it, then why was I forcing Carth to? It just didn't seem right to me. Ha, there go my bipolar morals. If only my brain could feel like _one person_ for once.

Heavy steps and mechanical machinery echoed behind me. I turned my head around to look over my shoulder. Onasi-that very same man I had been pondering-was walking towards me with dark eyes. The door swished closed behind him and he stood beside me, holding the railing. The commander was dressed in one of the Hidden Bek's spare uniforms since his jacket was still in our old apartment.

He sighed. "What are your priorities anyway?" he asked.

I gave him a look before glancing out into the Lowercity night-a few lights flickering in the distance. I shrugged tired shoulders.

"I used to have priorities. But then...they all blew up in my face," I said, smirking. I could tell Carth was looking at me differently, not a glare, not a suspicious glance...but something that looked as if he related to what I said...somehow.

He stepped back, his hands still on the railing. "You know that we need Bastila in order to escape this planet, right?"

I groaned loudly, turning to face the commander. "I _know_ okay? You don't have to tell me again."

Carth's face grew red underneath the low lights and his fingers slid away from the railing as he stood up straight. The pilot looked at me briefly before his eyes glanced out into the dark beyond.

"There is just something off about this whole thing. With the Endar Spire?"

Stepping back, I peered sideways the military cut hair of the commander. A beard was starting to grow and last I checked one was sprouting on me as well. I tried guessing what exactly he was looking at. "The Sith fleet suddenly pulling us out of hyperspace like they knew where we were. Bastila-even though her powers are known to be outmatched-didn't even have enough time to use Battle Meditation because of it. And then there's you."

I glared back at him. "What about me?"

He didn't actually think I was to blame? The commander briefly glanced away from what he was looking at in the beyond before leaning heavily upon the railing.

"You know what I'm talking about. It's just...these things don't add up. Tell me what happened. From your perspective."

I smiled nervously. What exactly was he trying to piece together?

"Well, I mean...I wasn't in a position to know what was going on, really. I mean...you probably know more than I do-"

"No...no there was something else."

I paused before glaring up towards him. "_What_?"

I was getting really sick and tired of Carth's bipolar paranoid monologues. They made me depressed just listening to them.

"The Jedi also happened to come aboard with you and even if Admiral Dodonna's message had been delayed-the date was still clearly the day we departed. Just like you."

My face drained of blood, my heart pumping and my very veins stretching in anger. "What are you trying to say?"

Carth glanced back at me and opened his mouth as if pondering what he was going to say next. Then with a sigh, he looked away.

"If you won't tell me what your position in the Republic fleet was before coming onto the Endar Spire...then what makes me think I can trust you?"

_What_? He thought I was a Sith spy? I could feel my anger rise in my chest again. _Of course_ I didn't work against the Jedi. They were the ones who led me onto the Spire in the first place under their apparent "orders" from the Republic. If there was one person Carth should have been speaking to and blaming, it would have been Bastila. But she wasn't here now, was she?

"Look here-"

"No. No I will not be betrayed again. You just don't-you don't _know_."

I let go of the railing and faced the commander, my eyes feeling wild and my hand shaking from anger.

"Of course I don't know! You won't _tell me!"_

Suddenly, the plasma bulb above us flickered then shattered and I jumped in sudden horror as glass began to rain down between us. I looked at the glass then back up at the ceiling, narrowing my eyes at the old lights. These Hidden Beks...how did that light suddenly crush itself?

Carth was looking up in astonishment too and when I looked closer at him, he hung his head in defeat. Kicking a few glass pieces to the side, he gazed back into the darkness.

"You want to know? _Fine, _I'll tell you, but I expect answers." I nodded my head though I still was a bit shaken and angered by the pilot's paranoia. "My home planet...Telos, was one of the first planets destroyed in this war. By Saul...Saul Karath." He looked to me as if I would recognize the name but it didn't sound familiar to me. "You know, he was once Admiral Karath?"

I pursed my lips then smiled crookedly, nodding my head as if I suddenly remembered. He was probably referring to something a recruit in the army would know...and I was not going to look like an idiot...

"O-Oh yeah. That Karath..."

Carth sighed, combing his hair with his hand. He obviously didn't want to tell me a whole narrative.

"He used to be my mentor. During the Mandalorian War. I..._trusted_ that bastard. When he led the Sith fleet to destroy Telos...I just knew that I couldn't trust anyone anymore. Not you and not the Jedi either. It's nothing personal."

I snorted. "It sounds personal to me," I said.

"Well, it isn't. And you aren't giving me any reasons for it not to be."

Touche.

The commander sighed. "My wife...and my son. They were both down there on the planet when Malak ordered the Sith fleet to destroy everything. Saul...he could have ignored the order. He could have just stood down but he didn't. That's why, when we meet again, I will kill him for what he did. He deserves little else."

I swallowed and closed my eyes. They say that a man who looks for too long and for too hard at twin stars blinds himself from the truth. Carth reminded me of that little fairy tale and not in the positive light. He must realize that everyone is different, right? Not everyone is a Saul.

This soldier was out for vengeance...I couldn't really relate to why he was such a paranoid bastard though. It is true that I gave him little reason...but-

Carth glanced towards me. "Now its your turn. Go on. Tell me what you've been trying to hide from me."

I looked away from him quickly like he was a father who had caught his child reaching for Corusanti sweets. What should I say? What was there _to_ say after he poured his heart out and made himself vulnerable? I would be foolish not to tell him the truth now and regret when he comes after me later.

I sighed, resigned to my fate. "I'm actually-"

"You two."

We both turned around and a twi'lek in Bek armor stood behind us. His face was pale and a figure stood behind him. A blue twi'lek suddenly rushed out into the faint light, ignoring the glass that splayed along the floor.

"You have to help me! The Hidden Beks won't help me! Gadon and Zaedra won't help me! You just-please say you'll help me!" Mission cried out.

I turned around, startled by these turn of events. "Wait just...slow down Mission and tell us what's wrong."

Even I was surprised by my calm voice after that stressful conversation.

Mission took another deep breath, her face sullied with dirt and blood. "They've taken Zaalbar! The Vulkars! They...he told me to run and I didn't want to do it at first but he pushed me away and...and..."

Carth took a step forward and bent down to Mission's height. "Tell us the whole story Mission. From the beginning."

Another deep breath and the alien girl's rushed speaking suddenly condensed. "We were just walking around the Lowercity, we do it all the time, but neither of us saw the ambush. I...I thought that it was safe...They've captured Zaalbar! B-Brejik's probably going to sell him into slavery! Please, we have to get into their base! The Hidden Beks...they're not going to risk it. Gadon...and Zaedra...they've told me not to explore the streets at night before. You can help me though, right?"

I glanced towards Carth, his lips pursed in indecision. Something told me though...and even though I thought it was a stupid idea...

"We'll help you," I said.

Wow, did those words actually come out of my mouth? I was going to help this little girl for nothing?

I glared towards Carth who was glancing towards me with a raised eyebrow.

Yeah...I'm not a completely heartless bastard so shut up Carth.

**W**

"There is one back way that the Vulkars barely keep guarded in the Undercity," Mission said, the elevator trembling as it reached floor two hundred.

Normally, the sun would be rising in the Uppercity but, of course, like the bottom of Kashyyyk jungles the Undercity would be as dark as night. Hmm...have I been to Kashyyyk before? Well...I did see a few crappy holovids and none of them were really interesting if creepy ginormous bugs were supposed to turn me on.

The floor number reached one hundred and I kept a tight grip on my blaster. With the last remaining credits I had on my account we each bought ourselves suitable protection...which is to say barely anything at all. I was still crying on the inside when that zero appeared on the Hidden Bek's datapad. The commander only rolled his eyes when he saw my expression of pure defeat. I was officially bankrupt. I know, impossible right?

"Are you sure this way is even safe?" Carth, the worrywart, asked. Come on, if it was safe then the Vulkars would completely close it down. A dangerous backdoor is useful for many people including the ones who are keeping something or someone hidden.

Mission's expression broke slightly from her reassured smile. "Um...well...it's safe enough...I suppose. I mean, we go down here all the time."

I looked up at the elevator floor number. Thirty. I prayed one more time that we would get out of this alive. Mission was doing a terrible job of reassuring the both of us.

The doors opened and immediately a stench that I could barely tolerate wafted into the small elevator. My face scrunched up in literal pain and I glanced towards Carth to confirm whether I wasn't just imagining this death defying odor.

I wasn't.

Mission was the first to exit into the hard mud of that was the true ground of Taris. I followed her by a few feet all while glancing wearily about the Undercity. Shacks were set precariously against the ancient steel walls of the Taris skyscrapers. The people who lived down here were crawling around like rats and staring up at the alien looking upworlders. I suddenly felt rather overdressed in this environment despite the second hand cortosis weave armor. A few skinny children ran past us and each one of them stopped to gawk. I turned my head, enough for me to notice a few short and pale beggars making their way towards us

"Hey, you used our elevator!" one shouted.

I narrowed my eyes and Mission was crossing her arms. Carth had finally caught up to us and was curiously looking towards the newcomers.

His friend pointed crudely towards us. "Yeah, and you have to pay to use our elevator."

I shrugged my shoulders. "We don't exactly have the credits, little guy," I said.

He should have met me _before_ I wasted the rest of my money.

He shook. "Liar! You upworlders always have credits."

...The one time I tell the truth and I'm shot down. I wonder what type of joke I must look like? Really... this must be fate's true revenge.

Carth took a step forward and, fortunately, he had been smart enough to bring slips along with him. I wondered if I should thank him for his quick thinking or despise him for being better prepared. I decided to just close my mouth and let him do whatever he wanted...

The beggars took the credits greedily and Mission turned to glare at the commander.

"You shouldn't have done that..." she muttered.

Onasi cocked his head to the side.

"Why not?"

Mission shrugged. "You'll see."

Even though I hadn't been the one to give those beggars credits, I still shivered in slight fear from her words. These people looked desperate...and hungry. I haven't seen any planet like this before-and I've seen planets. These people were in such third-world state that they were at a level before the discovery of lightspeed. Which is to say, ancient.

As we treaded carefully through the village, more and more people gathered around us and were eyeing Carth curiously. My spine suddenly shivered in fear when I saw the hunger and fear in their eyes. These people would probably do anything to survive.

A woman suddenly bumped into me and before I could apologize, she was attempting to claw me apart.

"You murderer!" she shouted.

I had no choice but to throw the weak person off of me and onto the ground and this only incited the people around us. Mission paled and Carth pushed hard onto my back to go faster as the villagers raged, each of them attempting to claw at us.

"You left us to the rakghouls!"

"You upworlder scum!"

"Go and leave us alone! We've had enough of you today!"

My mind was in such a tumble that I hadn't even realized when the people had thrown the three of us out into the wastelands, closing an iron manual gate. I glared back at the unwelcoming Undercity dwellers and then gave Mission a look of doubt.

"What was that?" I shouted at the young twi'lek. "Who were those-"

"They were banished here a long time ago-prisoners of a long forgotten war. They've been oppressed for so long down here that some don't even know what it's like in the sun."

The rest of my words lay dry in my mouth as I stood up and dusted myself off. Carth looked a bit more shaken then I was and sighed in slight shame. I had to admit...this Outer Rim planet was a bit crueler than others if not completely inhumane. At least slaves and other lower class people of other Outer planets got to see the light of day.

Mission stood up then and glanced around. The skyscraper trunks stood like frozen statues and an ominous growl echoed through the cold bleak desert. I was slightly surprised when I saw my breath coming out in short gasps.

The blue twi'lek actually looked scared for once. "We have to watch out for rakghouls. If you see one, shoot immediately. Their bites will turn you into one of those monsters."

Great. Just what we needed, more dangers. I just hoped that we could get back before evening. Before the race.

We began to walk then, each of our steps creating small indents in the soft rarely treaded ground. I learned awhile back-when I used to trade with Taris if only briefly-that the planet used to be lush and green with life before they found resources upon its surface. Of course...there were other fairy tales that people liked to tell about this planet but I really didn't believe in _stories_.

Yet now...

"It's kind of...quiet," Carth muttered.

"Well...it's not anymore," I muttered back, rolling my eyes.

"Shh."

This little girl was more level headed than either of us, really.

The blue twi'lek stopped when we saw fragmented parts in the distance. Faint smoke trailed out like wisps from what appeared to be a crash of some sort. Holding up a hand, the little girl pointed to the ground. Landmines. Whoever was here first didn't want anyone coming back.

Carth was glancing about with narrowed eyes. "This is an escape pod..."

I took another look at the machine parts and recognized the broken Republic insignia immediately. This was probably Bastila's escape pod. Of course...she wasn't here anymore.

Mission nodded. "We have to keep moving. The entrance is not far past here."

I agreed with that sentiment...until I felt something tugging me towards the wreckage. Like some invisible force whispering to me from inside the pod. As Mission continued past the parts, I swung to the left.

"Where are you going?" Carth whispered harshly towards me.

I ignored him as I avoided frag mines camouflaged within broken engines. I hugged the edge of the large escape pod and saw the blasted broken door below the hinges. Carefully checking for any more mines, I breathed deeply when I climbed in through the side hatch.

The pit stank of smoke and burnt gases as I peered around. What was I looking for? Bastila wasn't here. What was the point of this mini expedition? I was just wasting precious time-

My wandering eyes stopped upon a lone familiar looking device. I realized then that it looked a lot like Bastila's lightsaber from that hauntingly foggy dream. And there it was, hidden underneath the escape pod seat like a mistreated toy.

I smirked. What kind of Jedi was this Bastila? She seemed to trip and misplace important items most of the time...and the fate of the galaxy was in her hands?

After stretching my body to the limit, I grabbed the lightsaber and climbed out carefully, my hair frizzed up from being inside that humid broken spacecraft. Both Carth and Mission were giving me strange looks as I waved the metal tube around.

"It seems like someone has forgotten something," I said, smirking.

The commander grimaced as I waved it again.

"Be careful with that...!" he said harshly.

I grinned."It's alright. I don't know how to turn it on so...we're good!"

"That's the problem. You don't know where the button is. If you're not careful you could accidentally stab me or yourself with it."

I pursed my lips together and shook my head, placing the lightsaber carefully into my pack. Did he really think I was that irresponsible? I wasn't going to go on a rampage with a Jedi's weapon. I didn't even know how to use one.

Mission's face contorted with confusion. "What are you guys talking about?"

**W**

Our journey within the underbelly of the Uppercity came to a halt when Mission noticed something past the ancient wall. Both Carth and I prepared our blasters as we peered past with anticipated trigger fingers. I guessed that we had been walking down here for about an hour before we ran into the Sith patrol.

Which is to say...a very much dead Sith patrol surrounded by white pale creatures.

I glanced towards Mission and Carth-both of them grimaced as they saw what laid beyond the metal roots.

"Are you kidding me..." Carth muttered, wiping sweat from his brow.

I smirked, laughing darkly from that statement.

"I wish..."

"Do you think this is funny?" the commander bit back, turning his head quickly to look at me.

Rolling my eyes...my signature expression around the paranoid soldier, I looked down at my blaster and turned off the stun setting.

"Of course not...do _you_ think this is funny, _commander_?"

I received no response from the pilot when Mission came between us like a bouncer breaking up a minor drunken dispute. Her expression was frantic...she was actually afraid now? Amazing...

"Listen...we can't take on all of those rakghouls at once. The entrance to the sewers are just beside them. If we just take it nice and easy...then we can do it. I've done it before with Zaalbar so it's possible for you two."

Yeah, you did it before but I highly doubt Carth is as quiet as that wookie. I mean...he whispers like a bantha in heat...

With a small nod, Mission crawled close to the ground, using the darker shadows of the skyscraper as cover from the rakghouls. I wondered how she was able to avoid these creatures when they could just as well smell us. The shredded Sith patrol didn't really bode well for us...I hoped that they weren't some premonition about our own fate.

We hugged the wall as if a gigantic chasm laid below our feet. The pale creatures were scrunched over the armored Sith, disgusting sounds of their digestion shaking me to the core. _Force_...they were eating them. I could start to feel my skin pale and my hands shaking as I stepped over metal gravel. I could hear Carth breathing from a mile away..._lay off the calories you fat gamorrean_. He sounded like an asthmatic kid on a race for his life.

He could have been a little bit more careful with his footing too because if he tripped-

"Shit," Carth cursed as he tripped over a machine part that I had noticed a while back and went tumbling to the ground.

...I _had_ to think that, didn't I? I glared at the unagile pilot but I couldn't be angry at him for long when five pale heads peered up at us with dark red teeth and eyes. There was a split second of silence-a one credit coin could have been dropped and heard from miles away. I could hear Mission's breathing-which was amazing because she was probably more silent than I was.

The quiet air was broken when I raised my blaster and fired off a precise shot, hitting one of the monsters in its pale skull. Damn it, I had to protect Mission and this worthless commander now...why had I agreed to do this again?

The four remaining beasts danced around Mission's blaster fire and Carth had begun shooting from the ground. Mission was able to get in a few hits on one of the rakghoul's torso but it kept on running towards us like nothing had even happened. Had I been lucky with that first shot? It was starting to seem likely...

I fired off a few more rounds and I was able to take another down easily...probably because they were starting to close in. I was taking a few steps back unconsciously and Mission was slightly following me. Carth, however, was stuck on the ground and was struggling to get up. I narrowed my eyes.

"Carth! Get back you old fart!" I shouted, aiming blindly at the rakghouls as I ran backwards a few more steps. He hadn't heard me as he shot with one of his blasters at the three remaining beasts. Seeing no choice, I tugged the pin out of the frag grenade and chucked it towards the rushing animals. I wasn't sure if Carth would be too close...but even if he was it wouldn't be enough to kill him u_nfortunately._

The resounding smoke and angry coughing blasted through the rakghouls like deralian butter. Crossing my fingers, I stared off, squinting past the dark smoke created by the accursed sediment of Taris.

There were shouts of surprise and I raised my blaster again only to jump when red laser light pierced the grenade smoke like blowing pipe smoke. A pale figure fell...and red liquid spread from where I had thought Carth to be.

I almost felt my heart stop.

...Wait, I_ cared_ about this soldier's safety? I thought I hated his guts...

I ran towards the commander's position, forgoing Mission who was glancing towards us with worry.

"Carth!" I shouted.

I was close enough to observe the damage, the pale skinny rakghoul had tackled the soldier down. Two of them had been torn to pieces by the grenade however, _somehow_, the third one had survived enough to attack Carth. And after that attack, Onasi had been able to shoot its brains out.

I shoved the rakghoul body off of orangy and peered down. His face was bloody, shoulder pierced with two bite marks. He was glaring at me though..._still._ What, even if he was half-dead he wasn't going to trust me? What kind of insane person-

He coughed. "Thanks a lot you idiot...you could've blown my _fucking_ head off..."

I narrowed my eyes. How could...? I was still able to create mistrust between us, even if I had been trying to save his life. Mission came up beside me, her mouth covered in horror. Yeah...he looked bad but he's probably had worse-Mandalorian war veteran and all. Carth began to sit up carefully...however something worse than gravity pulled him back to earth. I pursed my lips as I took a more careful look at his shoulder wound. Pus? What...did this rakghoul have rabies or something?

My eyes widened.

What had Mission said? _Their bites will turn you into one of those monsters. _I paled as I glanced quickly towards Mission, her hand remained on her face like she had been born without a mouth.

Carth was dying.

And I could do nothing about it.

* * *

**Hello again dear readers! Sorry about the delay for this chapter, I've been a little busy. Hopefully, I'll have the next one up by monday or tuesday. And review! I could use the support..._sniff_...**


	6. Maybe for a Wookie Price

**Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic**

* * *

**Strong Winds**

* * *

**Chapter Five**

I sat back, holding my forehead in disbelief.

"Are you _serious_?" I asked, anger bleeding through my words.

I glanced towards Mission and the light had left her eyes entirely. We situated Carth to sit beside the skyscraper wall. At any moment, the pilot could turn into a shadow of himself and rip us to shreds. The blue twi'lek was shaking her head.

"I-I'm sorry...this is all my fau-"

"It's not your fault, damn it."

Yeah. I know. Cursing out a kid. How mature_, _Wes.

I buried my head into both of my hands before sighing loudly. This pilot might have been annoying but he was a part of my ticket out of here. He still had a race to win! And Bastila would take one look at me immediately and wonder. She wouldn't trust me if Carth Onasi died on my watch.

And...the guy was starting to grow on me. Who was I going to have to snark at?

Carth, who had been motionless this entire time, looked up. Wow, I thought he already blacked out on us. He looked like he wanted to berate me about something but the words never came when his head hit the hard steel once again

I stood up and began to pace slowly. How else was I going to get us out of this situation besides walking myself into a deeper hole?

"Is there a cure?" I asked the twi'lek who was trying to follow my rushing figure.

She sighed shakily. "Y-Yes but...only doctors in the Uppercity have it. I doubt that we could-"

"_Anyone else_?" I asked forcefully. I wasn't trying to scare the kid, really, but I just wanted her to talk quickly. Before the rakghoul poison could settle.

Mission paused before shaking her head slowly. "I-I don't think so."

_Shit_.

As I paced, I occasionally glanced towards Carth, his face was gradually growing paler. He wouldn't last the hour in that condition and there went my chances of getting out of here alive.

As I thought of the Sith who would eventually come to slaughter me, my eyes hovered towards the mutilated corpses of the squad. One of my feet hovered as I stopped to squint at one of the bodies.

A syringe?

My foot stomped onto the ground and I began to half run towards the Sith bodies-not even checking for landmines. Fortunately my oversight wasn't punished by my immediate death as I bent over the rotting corpse, the reeking smell strangely not as disturbing as it should have been.

A green substance was half inserted into the man's shoulder-which had been strangely left alone by the creatures. A metal bottle was half buried within the bloody mud and I took it up within my gloved hand.

_Rakghoul serum._

My eyes could barely believe what I was reading..._rakghoul serum_? As in _cure_? I couldn't help but laugh as fate, once again, gave me a sign that I was in its favor. I felt like waving the bottle around, however, I was afraid that the last remaining substance would spill out.

I ran over to Mission eagerly who was glancing towards me with a brightness returning to her innocent eyes. Taking the syringe in a tender hand, I gave Carth a look of hope and he raised his eyebrows in return.

"I hope you don't mind sharing needles," I muttered, Carth smirking slightly.

Now, I wasn't a medical doctor, but what was I supposed to do? I guessed around the area where a vain might be and decided to use it close to his injured shoulder. He didn't really seem to argue or question what I was doing when all of the green substance was inserted into his blood stream, his face relieved. I exhaled a held breath and glanced towards Mission, smiling.

"Force...that was _too_ close..."

Carth moved to sit up more, wincing in pain as he stretched his shoulder. I gave him a small smile-I saved his damn life and now we were even...I guess. I wasn't sure if I should count Calo Nord as saving my life or not. His face appeared much less pale than before and he didn't look like he was on the brink of suffocation.

"Glad you care so much about me..." was my thank you.

It was my turn to glare at him and Mission was the referee to our dispute again.

"Guys...we don't have much time. Zaalbar-"

"Do you think he can go anywhere without a heavy dose of kolto and a nap?" was my response looking around to see if I could find the commander's blasters. Spotting them across the field, I bent over to pick them up.

When I turned around, Onasi was looking at me. "You have to go on, recruit."

I tilted my head, stopping. "What?"

"You heard me. This kid wants her wookie back. Don't you want to be a kind soldier and help her?"

Look...I just volunteered because I thought this task was going to be easy. Of course, I underestimated the obstacles to get to our enemy first but who even knew how powerful these Vulkars were? And, _by the Force_, I wasn't a soldier and I wasn't going to _be _a soldier. Ever.

Onasi seemed to hear my silent answer and Mission deflated when she realized that we wouldn't be able to help her with her wookie problem.

"That's alright I guess...I mean...if you're hurt then I can't make you-"

"I didn't say anything yet," I interrupted, surprising even myself. I cursed deeply inside my head, mentally slapping my forehead. Will my mouth just shut up already? I was getting myself into something that I didn't want to get myself into. I could already tell...

Maybe I wanted to prove myself to Onasi. Maybe I wanted to prove myself that I wasn't a coward who was afraid of responsibility. If no one else was going to do it, then why not me? The adrenaline and the pressure...for some reason I just _loved_ it. I really hoped I wasn't turning into a masochist...

Mission glanced hopefully with those radiant eyes. They sort of reminded me of the freed slaves' eyes. Just seeing her look up at me gave me the extra confidence to be completely and utterly stupid.

"You're going to rescue Big Z?" she asked, her chest rising in excitement.

A smile broke out onto my face and the words spilled out without my mind processing. If I was ever a parent-ha, _funny_-I would have spoiled my kids senseless. I just couldn't be unconvinced by this kid...

"Of course I'm going to help..." I muttered unconsciously. I would really hate myself if we couldn't get that wookie back, no matter how silent and awkward he was to be around.

Mission seemed to brighten up, however, she looked worried too. "By yourself?"

..._Erm_. "Wait...you aren't coming with me?" I asked.

"I have to help Carth, right?"

I narrowed my eyes. He could probably walk back himself...past that mob of Underworlders. I suddenly doubted that he could limp back once I reminded myself of that incident. So, I was going to venture into the unknown without a guide? I was rather worried about that idea and even though I was at times stupidly brave...I wasn't _that_ stupid.

Sighing, I grabbed one of Onasi's blasters and took out the full charge, taking my own weak charge out as its replacement. Checking the three grenades that I had left and the weak shield that wouldn't be good enough to even repel turret fire, I stood up from the commander's side and looked at the blue twi'lek.

"You owe me a few credits for this, kid," I muttered.

I might as well get that zero off my back if I was going to do something this insane.

Mission looked away quickly then stared off towards the back entrance. Her expression was slipping between relief and worry.

"I...there's one thing I forgot to mention..." she muttered lowly, her breath visible from the cold.

I narrowed my eyes. "_What_."

There was always a "but," wasn't there? This mission is going to be easy _but_ you're going to have to avoid an asteroid field along the way. Oops. Don't don't worry, the Republic doesn't even know about this transport _but_ they might find out soon after you leave port. Oops. I always asked about the _buts._ They were what either made the credits worth it or...not.

So, I waited impatiently for Mission's _but_.

"...the Vulkars use a rancor to defend the back entrance... but you could probably sneak past it!" she said, hurriedly adding that last bit in reassurance.

Even a million credits wouldn't be worth going against a _rancor_.

"A _rancor? _You want me to sneak past a _rancor?" _My eyes were wild and my voice rose. "How the fu..._Force_ did they get a rancor down there?"

Yeah, I could have been asking better questions like "why didn't you tell us this before" or "how am I supposed to do that" but I was too bewildered and tongue twisted about what I just got myself into. Was this wookie even worth the risk?

Mission saw my angered face and shrank back, her lekku sliding off her shoulders.

"I don't know...I think they raised it from birth. An egg from a Tatooine hutt I think? The thing's older than me so I have no idea."

Oh, well I feel _so _much better now that I know the rancor is ancient. I can just take a nice easy stroll right past it, right? Ha, a walk in a Coruscant park! But guess what...you can walk off the _fucking _edge of a Coruscant park and _die_.

Why didn't I just jump off the top and save myself the trouble?

"Kid...you really want me to do this...?" I asked, my eyebrows scrunched up.

She sighed. "Not unless you don't want to... but once you're past the rancor, it's easy to sneak around the base. I've done it before trying to prove myself to Gadon and Zaedra. They just called me a stupid kid though. If a stupid kid can do it, you can."

I snorted. She was resorting to self-deprecating herself. And it was working. I looked towards Carth who was trying to stand but failed miserably...the claw marks in his legs the major cause. He was looking at me in a whole new light though, kind eyes that I rarely saw before.

If I helped Mission, I gained Carth's trust.

That was what those eyes were telling me. Cursing lowly, I threw Carth's blasters to the ground and quickly turned away from the two who were leaving me to do their dirty work.

"Scratch a _few_ credits, you both owe me 1,000 for this. _Each_."

**W**

I soon realized that even a thousand credits wouldn't be worth the trouble.

No.

Wookiee were worth even more than that in the black markets. And if I was saving a wookie then I wanted to be paid that wookie price.

The sewers, Mission told me before I left, were underneath all skyscrapers. The Vulkar base sewer was the one that she and Zaalbar explored like frolicking children. Giving me a datachip that would bring the Vulkars' shields down-the ones that sealed a _rancor_ of all things-she patted my shoulder, looking down at her feet.

"Good luck, Wessy," she muttered.

I didn't even have the heart to tell her off about that stupid nickname. She looked that worried about me. Meanwhile, Carth wasn't glaring at me anymore, shaking his head as I began to leave.

"You're a really confusing guy, Wes," he muttered.

Wow, the second time someone used (well, one and a half) my first name today, no matter how embarrassing it was. I was starting to doubt my own cold kindness. Mock saluting to the commander-his glare reappearing-I slapped the ancient doors open as dramatically as possible.

Too many things must have died down there. A whole _planet_ must have died down there. I was still holding my nose with one hand and a blaster in another, glancing past the gamorrean infested undergrowth. I avoided most of the pig like eyes, walking beneath the paths, the water with a dark looking substance swimming around acting as my shield. I could swear a dark liquid oozed from one of the piggy's _asses_ and I only felt like throwing up yesterday's dinner even more.

Actually, they owed me two...no _three_ wookie prices for this journey and I hadn't even gotten to the rancor yet.

I stopped suddenly when the path became a dead end, the stairs to my right leading up to the ancient metal paths with the green disgusting pigs. The bottom of my dark pants were dyed black when I stepped up, the water dripping abnormally slow. I grimaced. If my legs were not an important part of my body, I would have cut them off then and there.

Peering up at the level of the metal path, I saw that the hall was not filled with crap imploders. I muttered a quick prayer of thanks to the Force or whatever deity might be looking down at me.

They really must hate my prayers too.

When I came to the top of the stairs, the ancient doors slid open in their slow fashion behind me. I jumped, raising my blaster up to the gamorrean or rakghoul that might come to attack me.

A gruff scared face was what greeted me along with a few other shaking and bleeding men behind him. The gray haired yet battle hardened old man raised an eyebrow when he spotted me, his men raising blaster rifles, grenades at the ready.

"Well, well, what do we have here? A rat in the sewers," the older man said, waving down his men.

He tilted his head when I still held my blaster up in his direction, raising his own large weapon in response. "Who are you and why are you down here?" he asked threateningly. I was trying to place his accent as I raised my hands, glancing quickly behind me. The pigs seemed to avoid this side of the path for some reason. I was probably getting close to the rancor.

This gray haired man was unrelenting so I shrugged, smirking.

"I'm a hutt in disguise who wants to take over the galaxy. Actually, you know what, why not start here? This sewer could become a great vacation spot, you know."

He laughed, raising his weapon higher, his troops following his lead.

"You don't look like a hutt."

I laughed with him, rolling my eyes in sarcasm.

"Really? Because I was trying so hard _not _to look like one."

"Enough jokes. Tell me who you are and why you're here or you're not leaving this 'vacation spot' alive."

I realized what accent this man had and my heart suddenly stopped in fear. He was a mandalorian. One of those brutes. I swallowed tightly, my smile suddenly disappearing from my face. In the years after the Mandalorian Wars, these bandits would raid any random machine that floated or even _existed _in space. I had terrible experiences with these mandos...and it would take a lot of my energy to resist killing this one in retaliation.

But...I was up against ten to one odds. Those grenades did not look pleasant either. So I nodded in compliance, placing the blaster to my feet.

"Wes...I'm Wes and I'm looking for the Vulkars' base."

The mando raised a dark eyebrow above his sick looking eye, lowering his heavy weapon.

"The Vulkars? Then we have something in common, Wes," he said. Nodding to his men, they lowered their rifles. "You see, that slimy bastard Brejik has too much debt on his head and we've come to...negotiate peace terms. The Exchange isn't really an organization you should mess with."

His last statement completely lacked enthusiasm so it was rather hard to believe him. And the Exchange? I remembered briefly transporting tarisian ale and spices for the Exchange though I never saw Davik Kang personally nor did I want to. Just dealing with the Exchange made me feel dirty...even though they were usually the third party in most of the smuggling contracts I took.

He glanced towards me, smirking. "You know what I'm talking about, don't you?" My smile was an answer enough and he darkly chuckled. "We could work together you know. We found a shield that we've been having trouble hacking into. You wouldn't happen to know of another way around?"

I began to weigh my options. They knew where the shield was yet I did not. And if I was going against a rancor...why not have eleven more bodies to distract it away from me? Eleven _Exchange_ bodies. Perfect rancor fodder.

I nodded my head. "I know another way around. In fact, I know the way forward. I can open that shield for you. Maybe if you showed me where..."

The old mandalorian smiled, nodding his head. He turned around, glaring towards the ten Exchange workers. I assumed that they had just come from the shield and had given up after trying to pry it open. I hoped they hadn't messed with it too much.

"The name's Canderous Ordo by the way," he said. He peered forward towards the men who were leading the way. "And these other worthless pieces of trash aren't really worth mentioning."

I glanced towards him. The mandalorian was walking close with his heavy weapon pointing at me. This Ordo didn't trust me at all, did he? At least he was less outspoken about it...because I didn't trust him either.

"What is a mandalorian doing working for the Exchange anyway?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

The hall was growing brighter and the twelve pairs of footsteps were creating a mini earthquake below. Canderous was glaring at me now with those dark eyes...his scar becoming even more prominent underneath the dim lights.

"That's none of your business now, is it?"

I guess not...I wasn't going to provoke a mando into a fight. Apparently they were strong enough to go head to head with a Jedi. I wasn't a Jedi and-forgetting about my dumb luck for a moment-I would probably die.

After walking down the slimy corridors, fans humming and dead rakghouls spread around like naked dolls, we finally reached the Vulkars' shield.

"Here you go, pipsqueak," he muttered, turning on the machine beside it.

I nodded, slipping the chip out of my pocket and sliding it into where a datapad would normally go. Hmm...an ancient datapad, I wondered what those looked like? The ten Exchange guards were giving me suspicious looks as I pressed the enter key on the terminal, a green light flashing from the chip before it glowed purple in confirmation. They probably wondered why I so easily complied to help them. I would definitely wonder why.

The shield dissipated and Canderous was the first to step forward into the new section of the sewers. Not much was different past there...except for the long hall that continued down. The mandalorian glanced at me as I took the chip out and followed him, his guards watching my back carefully.

"Any reasons why you're after the Vulkars?" he asked.

I shrugged back as we walked down the hall towards another ancient door.

"They stole a wookie from a kid. I'm just helping her," I replied.

The mando snorted. "Well...aren't _you _nice."

No...I wasn't doing this to be _nice_ at all. Why would I want to kill myself with a rancor? I paused before I opened the door, the ten guards glaring wearily below me.

An arm. Just the arm and nothing else.

I laughed darkly to myself as I bent down, inspecting what was in its hand.

A vial. Just a vial with a white powder and nothing else.

Canderous was looking down at it with his dark eyes as well. Taking the vial in my hand, I glanced towards the door again.

The rancor was behind here.

Of course...these fools had no idea what we were about to face. Ordo pressed the door switch naively and walked forward...only to jump back. _Funny._.. a mandalorian full of honor and glory shook at the sight of a rancor.

"In Mandolore's name...what is a _rancor _doing down here?" he asked. "You knew about this didn't you?"

Well it wasn't as if he was going to run away once I told him. The guards were shaking in their boots, some even muttering about falling back and forgetting about the whole mission.

Obviously, the mandalorian wasn't happy. "If you pathetic worms were mandalorians you wouldn't be asking for retreat. This is an ultimate challenge that anyone rarely faces. Why not take it up?"

Yeah...no one except a mandalorian would be excited about fighting a rancor. I should have known...

"B-But Canderous. I think Davik will understand-"

"Davik wants his credits. Besides that, he understands little else."

That actually sounded pretty insulting. The mandalorian didn't like his job?

I pursed my lips as I gazed at the bottle, the substance flaky and poisonous looking. Was this rancor poison? I thought these beasts were resistant to poisons...

Throwing danger to the wind, Ordo strode into the large room with little regard to his safety. I was hesitant to follow...but the bait wouldn't go in unless I did. This rancor was going to have a feast tonight.

The entire floor was covered in bones and flesh. I tried not to look down at the body parts and displaced heads but I had to make sure not to bring attention to myself from the rancor on the far side of the room. And there it was, chomping on a twi'lek body like candy. I swallowed but the mandalorian beside me was smiling.

One of the reasons why I hated the mandos was due to their bloodthirsty nature. Just the smell of battle was enough for them...

The rancor suddenly became aware of us when an idiot tripped and fell on top of fresh and ancient bones.

"Krif..." Canderous muttered. "You kriffen idiot!"

The brown four meter tall monster turned to face the twelve of us with eager eyes. It roared, bloody spittle flying in our direction, slapping into a poor man's face. The ten guards suddenly panicked and I drew my blaster carefully and fired, cursing with the mandalorian. My intended surprise attack was foiled by the Exchange dolts, of course.

Ordo also let rip a steady stream of shots, the red lines arching into the face of the beast. The rancor, I remembered, weren't effected by blaster fire though. Only lightsabers and grenades...anything that could burn off its armor like skin.

I glanced towards my pack. Was I dumb enough to try using Bastila's lightsaber? I didn't even know what button turned it on...but if I at least threw it at the beast then I might have a chance.

Cursing, the mandalorian stepped back when the rancor sprinted towards us with its bipedal legs. I tried conserving my blaster fire and retreated with him. Even the fire power of twelve wasn't enough.

One of the Exchange guards threw a grenade and it only spread and burnt the bones underneath the rancors feet. I dove to the side as it stormed past, sharp bones pricking into my side as the rancor ripped its teeth into one of the Exchange guards. His screams for help hauntingly echoed in the large room and were suddenly cut short with a crack.

I swallowed as the monster had its meal. Canderous was still shooting while I was trying to make myself scarce and let them kill it. I wasn't going to waste my neck on this.

The rancor sniffed the air, its yellow eyes turned to stare into my very soul. Why was it looking at me? I wasn't the one provoking it!

I shouted and struggled to get up as it went to dash for me, running and tripping over bones. Krif, fuck, shit etcetera. I was going through the whole dictionary of alien curse words as I tried to run back. I think Ordo shouted "coward" at me but I didn't pay the old gray haired mando any heed. I wasn't going to be that thing's next meal.

Unfortunately, the rancor was faster. I tripped one last time before it swiped at me with its mouth. The thing's breath stank of death and intestines and I almost reeled over in pain just from that. Rolling away before the yellow teeth had a chance to impale me, I reached quickly-almost unconsciously-for the lightsaber in my pack.

_The on button the on button where was the on button?_

Suddenly, my dream came back to me. The yellow saber. The masked devil. How had she turned on the lightsaber? Where? I fumbled clumsily with the staff as the monster came after me. Why was it picking on me?

I glanced down at the vial I was still holding in my left hand. _Of course_. Not poison, bait. I had been the bait all along.

I threw the glass vial away from me and like a dog it went stampeding towards it, the flashing ten backed up from the incoming beast. I turned my attention back to the saber and glanced over the smooth grooves. Hopefully the vial would buy me enough time.

The rancor trampled two more Exchange dolts and roared at Canderous. Pointing the lightsaber up, I pushed on the surface hoping that I would blindly find it. I'm sure the Jedi wouldn't mind me using her lightsaber to save my own life, right? Of course, controlling it was a whole different story.

I jumped when the bottom of the saber lit with a yellowish green beam, the button trailing on the bottom-near the palm. Interesting design...these Jedi were crafty..

But I had trouble even holding the thing still, an invisible force tugging it around, twisting my wrist with it. My eyes widened when I suddenly felt heat in my face, the guards and the mandalorian all giving me funny looks. My light show distracted them enough for the rancor to devour another guard. Only six of them remained now.

"What the hell-? You a Jedi?" I heard the mandalorian call out.

Heh...maybe in another life... I could barely hold this saber back from killing me. This Bastila's blade was out for a vengeance. Sweat coursed down my brow and I finally pulled the lightsaber away from my face.

And I was holding it normally?

Without wasting any time, I threw it at the rancor and was pleased to hear the burning sound and smell, smoke trailing up from its skin armor. It roared, twisting around and tried to swipe the lightsaber out of its back. I must have pierced a major organ for it collapsed to the ground, dirt drifting up.

I breathed deeply then smiled. This dumb luck of mine...

And...those Jedi aren't the only ones who could kill with lightsabers now...I just proved something, didn't I? Canderous was looking at me with different eyes and his injured troops were gaping at me.

The body growled once and my smile faded. The rancor tried standing however, Canderous shot another round at the beast. Too weak to fight back, it sank back down. The lightsaber handle fell to the ground suddenly and I glared at the object. It had a life of its own...

I had to pick it back up though. I couldn't just leave it for one of these idiots to take.

The mandalorian smirked. "You _are _a Jedi, aren't you," he said.

I tilted my head. "Sorry to disappoint...but I'm babysitting this lightsaber for someone. If I was a Jedi, I would be the worst one out there," I said.

He didn't look convinced and neither did his team. He snorted, shaking his head.

"Whatever you say..."

I glanced again at the body of the rancor then at the bodies of the Exchange dolts _then _past them to the far side of the large death filled room. Without another word, shouting was heard on the opposite side past the doors and I raised my blaster quickly.

"What other bastards are going to show up now?" the mandalorian muttered.

Blaster fire and smoke appeared past the half opened door. I ducked under a hill of bones glancing towards the Exchange group as two of them fell from the red bolts. I was about to shoot these new intruders down but before I could even raise my blaster, Ordo's heavy weapon pummeled blasts down the rodians bodies.

Way to take all of the fun away from me, mandalorian.

"We're falling back," he yelled to his men, glancing towards the other end of the room. "We've lost too many."

Wow, really? A mandalorian giving up? I was about to invade the Vulkars' base just by myself an hour ago. Ordo seemed to catch my bewildered look and he shook his head, teeth showing.

"This isn't a show of cowardice, kid. Davik intended for us to take over the base with fifteen men and now I'm down to four worthless boys. I'm not stupid and I assume you're not either so I'm leaving." He picked up his rifle and threw it over his shoulder, glaring at his surviving men. "Don't argue, just move. We'll come back now that the rancor's dead."

"I still have to go in there you know..." I muttered to myself.

Ordo stopped walking away and looked down at me with amusement.

"Really?" he laughed once. "Well then, you really are stupid, kid. Hope Brejik treats you well."

I really hated it when someone calls me stupid. And there went the meat shields that would attract the Vulkar's blasters. Before I could even snap back at Ordo, he was out of earshot and leading the Exchange dolts away. Force, I also hated not having the last word. I'd rather my words leave a lasting impression on someone annoying.

**W**

I considered the wookie a not as an important prisoner compared to Bastila Shan, so I figured the first place they would put him would be the slave pens. Shifting slightly in the blue and black armor that I took from the rodians Canderous killed, I walked nonchalantly down the hall, nodding to a guard. I hated using the same trick twice but it was the oldest one in the book. I'm sure the burn marks weren't visible either.

"Why aren't you at a post?" the guard asked.

Damn, he's smart. I paused in my stride, giving him a look.

"You didn't hear? The rancor was killed so I have to find another post, idiot," I said. I continued to walk forward, ignoring the dazed and confused look of the guard who then spoke quickly into a comm. It wouldn't take them very long to realize that someone broke in so I increased the pace of my walk.

Crude laughter was heard down the hall and I peered carefully into the door open beside me. The Vulkars were having lunch, a slave in chains serving them drinks. I swallowed before realizing that I would have to walk through there in order to get to the elevators. Holstering my blaster, I walked in like I had just returned after a long day.

Fortunately, their eyes were not on me but on the serving girl.

"You're a pretty bitch...aren't yah? Your father not here to save you?"

She shuddered as she placed the drinks down. A green hand grabbed her wrist and her figure seemed to grow even smaller.

"Please..."

I passed them slowly when the alien pulled her closer, giving the poor girl a hungry stare.

"Begging...now that's what I like to hear," he said, licking his twi'lek lips.

Another twi'lek beside him laughed.

"You know...we need to blow off some steam after shining Redros' swoop for the sixth time. This little dove should give us a good time, right?"

My face grew red in anger and I completely forgot about staying low, freezing. The girl was protesting when the twi'lek assaulted her and in a fluid motion I withdrew my weapon and shot a bolt into the green alien's head. I'm not even sure they knew what was going on, but eventually the other twi'lek and his rodian friends were gazing towards me in complete surprise. Before anyone else could draw their weapons, I took another shot at the dark twi'lek and he fell beside his dead friend.

The girl shrieked and ducked underneath the mess hall table and I followed her lead as the aliens realized I was the foe. I heard the table I was underneath burn and some of the bolts were strong enough to go through. I cursed and shot at an alien's legs, the rodian screeching as he fell. I finished him as he hit the ground, a dark mark in his neck.

"You slemo!" one of the last twi'lek screeched in his language.

Before I could go back on the offensive, a blaster bolt shot out but not in my direction.

The girl.

My eyes widened and I couldn't hold back the anger. How could those monsters do that? She was defenseless! They killed her in complete spite. Because of _me_.

Shouting as my blaster out of charge, throwing the worthless weapon away, I rolled out from underneath the table. They were going to die for killing that poor girl I meant to save. These cruel Vulkars...never have I seen anyone so callus and blood thirsty...except the mandalorians and the Sith maybe. I didn't even feel the blaster bolt as it nicked my side-shot from a terrified and shaky hand. Cowards, all of them.

Taking my knife, I dug the point into the twi'leki stomach and turned, punching the man with my forehead. The rodian beside him went to shoot, but his blaster suddenly fell out of his hands, gravity pulling it away. I pulled out the knife and kicked out at the rodian who slammed against the wall with an alien shout.

"P-Pleas-" the twi'lek tried to beg but I wouldn't have it, grabbing him by the throat, the rodian's blaster making a permanent hole in the green alien's face. The rodian coughed and tried to get up from the ground but I didn't let him, breaking fingers with my boot.

"Why did you do that!" I shouted at him, blaster raised.

He couldn't answer me though, his lungs drowned in blood from a cracked rib, so I put him out of his misery with a shot from his own blaster.

The place was only silent for a second before a red siren screamed from the corner. Crap...security cameras. I always had to forget the important details, didn't I? I glanced around at the massacre, my face paling when I saw the dead body of the slave girl underneath the table. Heat crossed my face when I saw her pale blue eyes staring up at me.

My grip tightened on the blaster. I couldn't save anyone, not Trask, not that Jedi, and not this poor girl. I was such a failure, wasn't I?

I left when the mess hall doors opened, Vulkars spilling into the room. I was now intent on finding the wookie alive, no matter how much I protested before. At least there was still a way to redeem myself.

* * *

**And there you go, chapter five! Next time, Zaalbar and the race. And remember to review! I want to know what you think about the changes I'm putting into the story...and if they're good or not. Until next time!**


	7. The Race

**Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic**

* * *

**Strong Winds**

* * *

**Chapter Six**

The room was dark.

After all, why would the Vulkars spare energy on compact slave pits? I stepped over the dead guard, searching the walls of chains and bodies. There were too many people here...and all of them were giving me the eyes of hope I had seen in Mission before. Was I here to save all of them? Could I even do that after I just tried saving one of them and she died as a result?

I shook my head, biting my lip as I avoided those pleading eyes. I was only there for one walking carpet...the sad looking humans and twi'lek broke my cold heart to pieces. I was a cruel bastard, wasn't I? I couldn't even help these poor people.

The wookie was in the corner, looking down at his chains. Half of an arm laid at his feet and I began to wonder what Big Z had done while he was imprisoned.

"Hey..." I began.

The slaves around me were pleading at me in their languages and I tried to look away again.

Zaalbar looked up and his eyes shined with hope yet suspicion.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, growling.

I took a look at his bindings and realized that I wouldn't be able to release him very easily from those. I took out the cortosis knife and sliced through the chains slowly, glancing behind my back.

"Rescuing you," was all I said.

After a minute of sawing, the chains finally fell to the ground, the wookie rubbing his fur wrists. I glanced around the prison, holding up my blaster as a signal to the people around me that I wasn't there to help them. Unfortunately, due to those thoughts, my hand was shaking as a result.

"Rescuing me?" the wookie asked. "Why? And where is Mission? If she's been hurt-"

"She's _fine_. Now, we have to hurry. I haven't exactly been watching my-"

"You!"

I turned quickly and shot out blindly towards the open doors, the twi'lek ducking. I took a few steps backward, running into Zaalbar quickly as I tried to find cover as the Vulkars discovered my location.

I had been careful the entire trip down, no one was looking in the slave pens for their intruders. And why would they when they stored all their credits in the upper levels? Of course...there was still the problem of escape.

I glanced towards the weaponless wookie and groaned as we were shot at again.

And then, a dark thought...

_If you release the slaves, then they could distract those Vulkars from you and the wookie. They want to be free. Why not give them the opportunity to-_

No. I wasn't that cruel. My face contorted in horror. Why would I even think those things? The pale blue eyes of the slave were staring at me again and the blaster bolts brought me back to reality. I shot back at them, hitting the twi'lek arm. He shouted and I smirked...but three more bolts came from beyond the door and a few slaves were hit in the Vulkar's crossfire.

"Shit," I muttered, taking another charger from my pack and reloading. These damn Vulkars...they will rue the day they made me an enemy.

I felt a heavy claw on my shoulder and looked up to the wookie. He growled a war cry and began to run out of cover. Was this carpet insane? We were still shooting-!

And then I saw the metal pipe in his hand...then the broken wall behind me. The Vulkars were reloading when the wild beast struck like that rancor, shouts of pure terror echoed mutely into the large room. When Zaalbar's woolly head poked out like a wack-a-tach, I grinned, shaking my head at the audacious yet quiet beast.

"Warn me before you do something like that, okay? I almost shot your furry ass..."

"You were taking too long."

Wow, this Zaalbar was crazy _and_ impatient? We had a lot more in common then I thought. The slaves around us were scared senseless, some holding on tightly to each other in fear. My eyes grew blank when I looked at them and bent down.

The wookie tilted his head. "What are you doing?" he asked.

I took out my cortosis knife and began to work at the bindings of a human, his young eyes looking up at me with joy. I smiled back at him until I felt a large paw grab my shoulder. "We have to leave, the Vulkars will come and when they do all of these people will be caught in the crossfire. We can't save everyone," he said.

My heart seemed to tug when I heard his words and knew that they were true. But still...I shrugged his paw off of my shoulder and continued to help the boy. I just wanted to save one...just one. His chains fell off of his wrists and I lifted the small boy up quickly and handed him to the wookie to carry.

The other slaves were pleading to me but the wookie was already glaring at me with the boy in his hands. I had to leave...even if I just saved one person and forgot the rest. For some reason...I wasn't really happy about that. No...I only felt depressed and angry over it.

I was walking down the empty hall-the beaten bodies of the Vulkars all along the walls-when the wookie caught up with the quiet boy in his hands. He was telling me to slow down but I was too focused on finding Brejik. And killing him. I will go up to the top level and find that bastard-kill him and all of his Vulkars-then free all of those people he kept in his basement. Once Brejik died, the poor people that called out to me would be free. Only then.

I was slammed against the wall quickly, the dark haired boy walking beside the wookie with scared eyes. My face was red with anger when I looked up at the fur ball. That hurt damn it!

"Where are you going? The way out is in the other direction!" the wookie shouted at me. I struggled in the wookie's grip but failed miserably.

"I'm going to kill that bastard Brejik, that's what," I muttered darkly at him.

The wookie slammed me down again as if trying to remind me that I couldn't escape.

"And what will that accomplish? There are hundreds of Vulkars. You will die before you could even see his face!" he growled at me. The boy at his side was staring up at me in fright and just the innocent look on his face made me pause. He probably thought the wookie was attacking me.

I growled back at Zaalbar. "Of course I'm not going to see his face...because he's not going to see mine when I stab him in the back."

I was slammed again and the boy suddenly reached out to the wookie and tugged at his fur. The words that came out of his mouth were surprisingly foreign...I couldn't place the language that he was speaking. Wait...there was a language that I didn't know? Even though I didn't understand what he was saying, he looked frantic...tugging at the wookie, tears spilling out of his eyes.

I quickly relaxed when the wookie suddenly released me, his dark eyes staring down at the little one. I swallowed, looking down the red engulfed hall.

Without another word, I found that my feet were being lifted off the ground.

"What the-put me down!" I shouted, squirming. Damn...this wookie was strong...I certainly didn't weigh the same as that kid...

"I will not let you kill yourself. If I am to swear a life debt onto you then I don't want you dying in the mean time," he said, grunting as I struggled within his grasp.

Wait..._life debt_? As in...a walking carpet following my heels for the rest of my days? I paused in my struggles to look behind my shoulder at the wookie-his bear like face scrunched up in pain. I was quickly dropped onto the ground, groaning in pain as the floor connected unexpectedly with my knees. Force damn...this wookie didn't like warning people about what he was about to do.

I stood up, rubbing my knees as I gazed up to the wookie.

"Life debt? Are you-?" The boy quickly ran up and grabbed my legs-I quietly cursed when he hit my injured knees. "...serious?" I finished.

The wookie wasn't able to answer me when a few red beams of light chased after us. I cursed, pushing the boy beyond the corner, the fur ball following us behind the cover. I suddenly forgot all about Brejik and began worrying about this foreign boy's safety. I couldn't let him die, not like that girl. I would only feel more guilty about everything.

The boy was sniffing as I shot towards the Vulkars who had just come out of an elevator. _An elevator_. That was our ticket out of here.

I hit a rodian in the groin and he fell to the wookie's blaster rifle-one that he probably took from a dead guard. The rest of the gang members only seemed to get angry at their friend being shot, a grenade suddenly flying from one of their hands. I turned on my shield, jumping over the boy, and shouted towards Zaalbar to duck.

The blast was blindingly white. I was so dazed that I probably looked drunk as I tried glancing around. I felt something tugging at my arm. A language I didn't understand shouting at me.

I was still shooting though. I can't just rely on my sense of sight. I have to use the... my other senses to defend myself, including this boy now. The hallway's contrast suddenly darkened and I swerved my head around...only to be tackled from beyond.

I grunted as a knife descended down towards me, I grabbed the twi'lek arm and blinked a few times. A young boy was shouting at me yet I couldn't really do anything about him since I was going to be slaughtered by this bloodthirsty Vulkar.

He laughed. "You're not a Bek, that's for sure," he said lowly.

I saw red streaks above me, I twisted the twi'lek wrist away from my face. The green alien was laughing at me still, the knife gradually descending. My strength was starting to falter and I knew that I wouldn't be able to hold back this Vulkar for long...

However, those laughs turned to screams when the weight above me suddenly flew to the side and into the wall. A furry leg replaced the twi'lek and I grinned painfully as I gave the wookie a relieved look.

The green alien coughed out blood when I tackled him myself, placing the cold barrel of my blaster to his face. A single shot and he grew still, eyes blank with death. I inhaled deeply before getting up onto my feet. That flash grenade seemed to have cleared my head of stupidity. We needed to get out of here.

The poor slave boy was scrunched up into a ball and I had to lift him up like a doll in order to get him motivated again. He clung to me like a little tach. I really wanted to hand him over to the wookie again but he didn't seem to be wanting to let go. Force...I wasn't his damn mother...If Carth saw this...

The wookie was already in the elevator, messing with the control panel. He used a wookie word that I didn't understand so I tilted my head.

"A password," he muttered. "These Vulkars..."

"Then just hack into it," I said, slapping the elevator as it tried to close. I could hear shouting down the hall and my clothes were gradually get wet with salt tears. Force...we didn't really have much time.

The wookie glared at me. "It isn't that easy you know...I would need a computer slice and well...do you see any around here?"

"Well, then get to it," I said. The elevator dinged loudly and I slapped it again.

I glanced towards the blue flashing panel and looked up to the ceiling. Password, password, password...I didn't know Brejik personally. How would I be able to guess this?

"Try Gadon," I said.

The wookie shook his head. I sighed loudly. "Beks. Swoops. Brejik. MwhahaEvil123?"

Zaalbar rolled his dark eyes at the last guess. I pursed my lips...then cursed as a few Vulkars came around the corner. I was forced to release my hold on the elevator when red lights streaked inside, the numbers gradually going up. My face scrunched up in thought. Force damn...think Wes!

The Force...

"Bastila?" I tried.

The wookie jumped when the panel blinked, floor numbers scrolling quickly. I narrowed my eyes.

Really?

_Bastila_?

Was this Brejik a perverted creep or something? Maybe he fell in love at first sight with the Jedi and couldn't help but have the password be her name. If so...he really needed to get better firewalls for his computer systems. Or, better yet, firewalls for his brain.

The wookie saw my blank humorless look and shook his head as well, canceling the Vulkars request to get inside the elevator. Then, he pushed the screen quickly-hopefully leading the elevator up to the Lowercity's level. The boy that clung onto me tightly looked down onto the floor sadly yet calmly, probably hearing my dropped heart rate.

I had saved someone. Two. Maybe that would be enough to redeem myself for now. Yet still...I could feel those eyes from inside that slave pen. The boy suddenly slackened and I dropped him to the ground, his naive eyes looking up to me.

Yet...I didn't have the courage to look down.

**W**

"Big Z!" the blue twi'lek shouted, tackling the wookie with a fierce hug.

When we entered the Bek base, we were directed to the medbay where Mission was looking after the commander. Apparently, his wounds had been enough to warrant the rare dip inside a kolto tank. Of course...not enough words would be enough to thank the Hidden Bek leader for giving Carth that expensive treatment.

"Aw, who's this little guy?" Mission asked, jumping from the large furry wall to the scared little boy who held onto my leg too tightly. My circulation was starting to stop, a tingling sensation vibrating in my thigh. I grunted, grabbing the boy's arms and pulling them off my leg before I needed serious treatment myself.

"I don't really know his name, but we found him in the Vulkar base. He was..."

My sad eyes looked down to him yet his round eyes were giving Mission a curious look. I looked away as Mission bent down low to the kid's height. I didn't want to even mention that horror of a slave pen to the young twi'lek...but apparently the lack of my words was enough.

She frowned. "Oh...well don't worry! You're safe with the Hidden Beks!"

Mission jumped up, all perky again. She really wanted to cheer up this little boy, didn't she? I stiffened when I suddenly felt a large force grab ahold of me. The blue twi'lek was hugging me and even though she was probably half my mass she more then enough suffocated me. My face tightened.

"Thank you so much, Wessy! I thought..._well_...I _knew _you were a softy on the inside!" I glared down at her and she nervously released me, huffing. "Well _fine _Mister Serious-Face, I won't hug you anymore. You're worse than the old geezer..."

My mouth twisted in humor. "You mean Carth?"

Mission rolled her eyes as she walked forward, being trailed by the large wookie. The little boy grabbed my pant leg tightly again and I narrowed my eyes at his clingy nature. Was I really that motherly looking to this little kid? I really doubted that my face appeared kind or nurturing...

Carth laid on one of the few medbay cots, watching us as we entered. The door behind us closed, the smell of salty kolto hitting my nose like strong alcohol. The commander's arm was in a sling and his face looked slightly relieved when he saw the wookie.

"I thought you wouldn't come back," he muttered lowly, sitting up.

I rolled my eyes. "Have a little faith in me, _commander_," I said. "Despite the mounting odds I faced, I'm not that incapable."

"I _meant _that you wouldn't have come back after you helped the wookie. I thought you were going to run off," he said.

I snorted, crossing my arms.

"Well...I _didn't_. Will that get you off of my back now?"

He laid in his bed, looking up to Mission who was smirking at the pilot. I narrowed my eyes at the strange companionship they were showing. Before, I was worried that the twi'lek would rip Carth's throat out if I left them alone together but it seemed as if they were beginning to get along. I felt a strange twang in my heart.

The boy muttered something lowly in his language and I looked down at him, the Republic soldier finally realizing there was someone below his bed.

"Who-?"

"From the Vulkar base. I don't want to talk about it," I said quickly.

Zaalbar growled a sad phrase towards the boy and I frowned along with him. Onasi nodded a few times, appearing as if he didn't want to get too into the nitty-gritty details of my exploits within the base. I certainly didn't feel comfortable giving those details out.

Carth sat up again, staring seriously into my eyes. "The race..."

I sighed, holding my forehead. That was going to start in a few hours. When we first walked in, swoops of all sizes were being towed out and their riders were giving us nervous looks. Without winning that race, we wouldn't stand a chance of getting the Jedi back. Yet...the look the soldier was giving me...

"You have to race, Wes," he said, those unwanted words coming out of his mouth. "Do you think I can in this condition? I just...I might not have trusted you with this before but I do now. You are the only hope we have of getting Bastila back. And I mean it."

Only hope...that sounded familiar. Wasn't that what Bastila was to the Republic? The only hope...And now _I_ was the only hope the galaxy had? ...That was a lot of pressure to put on one man's shoulders, not to mention the Jedi's. Did Onasi even know what he was saying? And the Sith...did he mean for me to fight those bastards back too? How could I even do that? I was only one man - a _smuggler_ - ...yet the only hope. Damn it.

My face grew red and I looked between the two angrily, the boy shaking slightly as if he could sense my annoyed nature. I pointed at the commander, my mouth half opened before I turned around, closing it. What was I supposed to say? Okay, I'll go out there and get myself killed! Sure!

...The eyes of those slaves came back to me and the anger I felt to kill Brejik returned. Maybe I should race...and once I won I could take back everything that Brejik had taken away from me- from us. It sounded so simple...

I stormed out of the medbay, the boy releasing my leg yet following close behind me like a small shadow. Mission was following me as well, the wookie trailing farther away. The blue twi'lek was a quick one though, her hand grabbing my shoulder forcefully.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

Everyone always seemed so concerned about where I was going. What if I just wanted to be left alone? I sighed.

"I'm going to find that ticking time bomb of a swoop. Now, if you don't know where it is...then I'll be on my way." I turned around, pausing to throw my face around to the twi'lek again. "And you still owe me 1,000 credits."

**W**

The Lowercity Arena consisted of old speeder roads and deck chairs all lined up on ancient bleachers. Those seats were starting to fill up and I was only just now beginning to feel the pressure. Zax, a hutt that ruled over the Lowercity, glared at me when I said that I was going to race for the Beks.

"You do know that I have overwhelming bets placed for the Vulkars - specifically Redros - on winning this race, right?" he spoke in his clottered disgusting language. "You sure you don't want to change sides?"

I grinned. "I'm sure you tell that to everyone, hutt. And believe me, I already feel overwhelming odds. You don't have to tell me again."

The hutt glared at me with his yellow crusted eyes and I retreated before he could spit at me. I could barely stand being close to that filthy thing.

Walking towards the garages, I spotted over the crowds of people Vulkar uniforms and a tall shielded cage. I frowned as I casually walked in that direction, fitting my hands inside my pant pockets. I was shoved from behind as I tried to make my way towards the Vulkars - too many people wanted to see what was in that cage.

My heart dropped when I saw Bastila.

She looked half-conscious, a collar buzzed dangerously around her neck. I swallowed as I saw the bruises along her legs then paused when I saw the...revealing outfit these Vulkars put on her.

...I knew that they were making her do something humiliating.

I was being glared at by these Vulkars and I realized that I was staring for too long at their prize. Muttering something low to myself, I ducked into the crowd and back towards the garage. I was there to race for the Jedi...and for nothing else. My heart began to pang with nerves and adrenaline again. So much so that I didn't realize where I was going and ran into a tall red armored alien.

He glared down at me. "Watch where you're going, rookie," he said.

I narrowed my eyes but otherwise I stepped out of his way. He was in a pretty bad mood...wasn't he? I shrugged as I entered the cool swoop garage, spotting the ithorian mechanic. He was sighing as he went over my swoop with a datapad.

"You don't even have a chance of getting through half the race without something blowing off from within the accelerator," he said, shaking his hammerhead. I frowned, patting one of the duel engines.

"I could still try though, right?" I asked, though my voice still cracked in slight fear.

He shook his head. "Not unless you go at a hutt's speed...even then you would lose the race anyway."

I sighed before raising my hand up, grabbing the datapad from the ithorian's grip. The accelerator was red on the swoop's map, glowing even hotter when the engines revved. Well...there went my chances of living through this. I should probably just back out now...

A tall figure accompanied by a twi'lek entered the hanger, the wookie carrying a small boy. I narrowed my eyes as I shoved the datapad roughly back to the ithorian, walking quickly towards the three.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be back at the base?" I whispered harshly.

The twi'lek placed her hands on her hips. "I'm not a kid. And this little guy wanted to see you. Is there anything wrong with that?"

I glared up at the wookie then at the kid who was looking towards me with glee. I sighed heavily before rubbing my forehead of the tension that suddenly appeared. As if I wasn't stressed out enough...

"No...there is plenty wrong with that. It's dangerous here. There are Vulkars..."

"You do know that all gang violence is called off during a swoop race, right? We are as safe here as we were in the base."

"But Mission..." the wookie suddenly interjected.

She turned around to face the carpet.

"No Big Z, I won't hear it. We can't just make Wessy race without our loving support."

I really doubted their "loving support" would stop an accelerator from collapsing within itself... The boy within the wookie's arms was speaking rapidly, falling to the floor and looking up at me with bright eyes.

I sighed shaking my head.

"Well...take your loving support out of the hanger," I said, waving them away like Aldaraan royalty. Mission's face scrunched up and she grabbed the little boy's hand like a spoiled brat who didn't get that fancy albino gizka she always wanted.

"...Well _fine_. I was going to tell you to break a leg...but now please. Go ahead and break one. Literally."

The boy twisted around to stare pitifully back at me and I shrugged, glancing up at Zaalbar who was growling sympathetically at me. The ithorian mechanic was raising its single brow, looking up at the time quickly. I glanced up at the chrono as well and blanched. Twenty minutes until I had to bring this hunk of explosives up to the starting line.

I took that as a sign to get inside the swoop, grabbing a red helmet and nodding my head once at the frowning wookie.

"Be careful out there. I swore a life debt on you. Don't make that debt pointless."

He stomped away with those final words as I opened the cockpit of what I liked to call the "suicidal" swoop. The ithorian was still shaking his head as I ignored his warning and walked out of the way. A few other swoops were making their way onto the old speeder roads-the ones that used to have actual wheels on them I mean. Surprising how recent the speeder actually was to these Tarisians.

The road was wide and it seemed as if we had a fair stretch of track before we had to turn dangerously. I wasn't worried about the race of course...I was more worried about the suicidal bike I was racing.

A single engine swoop came up beside me quickly and I recognized him as that rude tall alien I ran into before. A few Vulkars and others in the crowd were cheering his name "Redros." The name sounded familiar...I was pretty sure Zax had mentioned the high amounts of bets people put on the alien. I made a mental note to avoid this red dressed alien at all times during the race. I had enough to worry about already.

I pulled up near the middle row. I tried counting the amount of swoops but I had to resort to guessing around the fifteen range. That was a lot for an illegal swoop race but... I doubted that anyone cared about Republic laws in an Outer Rim _Sith_ planet.

The people were all spread out around the track-I guessed that the richer guests were closer to the starting line. Mission and her wookie were most likely down further-close to the Hidden Beks. An ithorian announcer croaked out a few positive speeches about how intense this race against the Black Vulkars and the Hidden Beks was going to be.

He left out the Vulkars overwhelming chances however.

I never set foot inside a swoop and now I had to get used to the controls. They were slightly similar to a speeder minus the fact that there were thrusters instead of a simple wheel. There were brakes and a...well I guess that was the accelerator pedal since the engines revved with bright energy. I had to be careful with that one.

Many of the swoops around me were simple in design-most were single engines instead of double like mine. I crossed my fingers and hoped that didn't put me in a serious disadvantage.

Redros was laughing and spitting out curses to his mechanic who was oiling the back engines quickly before the race started. Half of the racers were in red and yellow painted swoops while the other half were dark blue or black. Redros' was-of course-the only exception since he was a Vulkar yet had a swoop colored red. My own swoop hadn't even gotten a coat of paint yet and look like a tin can compared to everyone else's.

A few Bek's looked towards me with sympathy. Yes, I was the madman who decided to ride the suicidal swoop bike. Now, let's just hope I didn't explode in any of their faces.

Before I could even examine what that meter in front of the cockpit window meant, the old traffic lights above us blinked red. I cursed, putting my hand on the thrusters. It was time to die...I hoped that there would be enough of me to have a funeral with when I was done.

My hands were shaking as I stared intently at the red traffic light and bit my lip when they turned yellow. I've never been this crazy in my entire life...and yet here I was with vibrating hands about to prove myself wrong. Hopefully. I mean, I didn't _want_ to die.

I didn't even notice myself stepping on the accelerator pedal when the light turned green.

My focus was intent as I weaved unconsciously through the traffic of swoops, never taking my eyes off the track and feeling the foot that was on the accelerator sweat. The black market accelerator did indeed increase the speed of this swoop, so much so that I was gradually coming up to third place.

Four laps. That was all I needed. However, the track was long which was why I wasn't even going to last for two. I tried putting those thoughts aside as I made my first turn, letting my foot go of the accelerator and bending smoothly into the turn. It was almost as if I was one with the machine as cheesy and unoriginal that sounded.

The first lap was easy, I was gradually coming in and out of second and third place like an unfaithful couple. Redros was easily keeping first place and the crowds cheered as he whooped on his red swoop like a crazy ewok. I narrowed my eyes at the Vulkar and decided to risk stepping on the accelerator a little bit more than I was.

I soon realized what that meter was for when it suddenly turned red. Overheating.

I cursed as I was forced to step back on the pedal, weaving my bike away from fresh debris. It took me a second to realize that the smoky swoop had been the person who had been in second place-a Bek.

Redros was laughing and sped away like a criminal caught on the scene of the crime. I was forced to back off as I crossed the see-through line, falling into seventh place. _Seventh_.

And that wasn't the end of that. _Oh no_. Redros had a few more tricks up his sleeve.

Another explosion rippled through the track and I made a quick and precise swerve as I..._sensed_ the metal engines flying into me. _Sensed_ not saw. Only a second later did the engines truly fall from the sky...like I was seeing double vision. Like I could predict the future.

And for some reason...that sensation scared me.

I passed over the debris of another Bek swoop, swallowing deeply as I had to make another quick swerve to avoid an aggressive Vulkar. The twi'lek was cursing at me. Since I was the only one on the track who had a covered cockpit, I couldn't yell back.

Then, without warning as I crossed the line again, I was in last place. I was starting to lose hope. How could I do this when on this very lap the suicidal swoop was going to backfire on me? My grip on the thrusters was sweaty yet I kept a continued focus on the stretch of road that seemed to be going on forever.

Then...a twinge of hope.

It was soft and in the distance...like a faraway dream in the mists. The images I saw...of my parents...filled me with the confidence to keep on going. Ha, almost as if someone was going through my mind and giving me morale...

_Wait_.

The Vulkars were slowing down and I was passing them as if I had just been catching my breath and meant to save my energy for the final stretch. I glanced out of the cockpit and saw the frightened and terrified faces of the Vulkars...even the Beks.

What was going on here?

Pretty soon, I was in second place again, Redros' back appearing like an unwanted plague. I was intent on catching up to him though so I stepped onto the accelerator and ignored the red meter.

A big mistake.

I felt something break inside my mind and all havoc went loose inside the bike. Puffs of smoke trailed out of the suicidal swoop and I was slowing down rapidly. Sirens were going off from somewhere. I didn't know what was happening before I realized that the acceleration pedal wasn't working anymore. And I was stuck, slowing down and gradually being passed like I was nothing.

Force...come on! This was worse then exploding in a pile of smoke! I was just sitting there...a failure! I squeezed the thrusters tightly as I felt _something _within my mind again. It was familiar too...

And then, it was as if I felt everything yet nothing at the same time.

The swoop suddenly sped foreward and one of my hands gripped tightly onto my seat in slight surprise. I was going at an even faster speed then before the accelerator broke down on me. I smirked slightly as the bike seemed to respond to my thoughts...rather then which way I was pushing the thrusters.

_What in all of the _hells _was going on? Why was this bike controlling itself somehow? And why was it responding to me? _

I was slightly swerving as those questions came into my mind as if losing my focus effected the swoop's performance.

Soon enough, I was beside Redros.

"You Beks!" he shouted.

He rammed his red shiny swoop into mine. He then noticed something odd, his expression turning. "What the-?"

I wasn't exactly sure what he was seeing when we passed the line the third time-some swoops stopping to get their bike fixed at a mechanic. I knew that my ithorian mechanic would be of no help to me.

Redros tried slamming into me again, the crowd buzzing with a strange excitement. I didn't really know what was going on anymore...

"Slemo!" he shouted at me as we came up to the halfway point of the track.

I then realized why his hits towards me never _hit_.

One of my engines weren't there anymore.

"..."

My face paled, my eyes widening, as I suddenly became aware that I was on the suicidal swoop that was only functioning on _one_ engine. _One_ and nothing else. _Nothing_ besides that and the accelerator was keeping this thing floating.

Except for..._I had no _fucking _clue._

I was beginning to panic and it was showing in the swoop, the bike with its own mind jumping up and down like an excited gizka. Redros was so shocked that he didn't notice the pile of Bek swoop parts that he - ironically - left behind. I heard him shout out once before his swoop became a manual grenade. My bike ducked along with me as the explosion propelled me across the finish line-my engines suddenly becoming Redros' remains.

Then...my face paled as the body of my swoop dropped-whatever force was keeping it together suddenly disappearing. I shouted as I slid to a stop, brushing away fire as the friction rubbed against the metal.

I opened the cockpit door quickly and jumped out, patting down the fire on my pants and rolling painfully away from the grenade swoop. I ducked as a few other swoops passed me and slide back when my bike exploded...accidentally taking some others with it.

I swallowed as I sat there glancing up at the falling debris.

The crowd was deathly silent. The few remaining swoop racers had stopped their bikes and were looking between me and my swoop in shock.

I just couldn't believe this.

I won.

Only after the ithorian announced the Hidden Beks as the winners did the crowd cheer.

* * *

**And there we go! How did you guys like my rendition of the race? I know in the game it was just a timed thing...but that sounds a bit boring and not as exciting as a real race. **

**See you again next chapter!**


	8. Bastila Shan

**Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic**

* * *

**Strong Winds**

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

I shook and held my grimy head as my ithorian mechanic helped me to my feet and brushed me off, his eyes smiling.

"I-I can't believe it! You won!A rookie."

Ha...yeah. I still couldn't believe it either.

Walking was rather difficult since my leg burned slightly from the overheated swoop. I looked up and the crowd was still going wild with both glee and rage. My heart dropped when I realized we were not done yet with the Black Vulkars. Oh no. Our problems had just begun.

The mechanic was obviously worried about me but I waved him off as I limped towards the garage. A few Hidden Beks were giving me thumbs up from their bikes and I returned the gesture with a crooked smile. I defied the freaking laws of physics...of course I was awesome...and still shaken to the core.

A few Vulkars were shouting at me when I got to the garage but the many Beks around were protecting me like I was Gadon Thek himself. Wow, don't I feel important. The hutt, Zax, was being overflowed by angry gamblers each demanding for a full refund that the creature would never give back. All of them were saying the hutt cheated and lied to them. Really? After I performed something so...impossible, they blamed the hutt for getting the odds wrong?

Well...I mean at least some of the yelling was being directed off me.

The whole entrance to the Lowercity Arena was overflowed with people of all races and sizes. Many Black Vulkars were marching angrily towards me - being led specifically by a dark skinned tired eyed man.

"You," he began pointing a wild finger. "You _cheated_ you _fucking_ bastard!"

I narrowed my eyes, glancing towards the cage Bastila resided in. I looked around again and was surprised when the doors behind me closed and locked with a red light. The mechanic beside me flinched, his eyes widening.

"What are you-"

A wild blaster shot and my mechanic went down. I quickly backed away with my hands raised. What the hell - ? These Vulkars weren't seriously going to deny that I won that race (even though the odds that I cheated were likely.)

A few Hidden Beks, all of them swoop bike riders themselves, took out their own rifles. The two groups were now in a stand-off, the heavy eyed man in front of me puffing up in anger.

"You Hidden Beks cheated!" he repeated.

"Shut up Brejik you liar!" shouted a Bek beside me.

I frowned, shaking and holding my head again. After this, I was going to have serious migraines. For sure.

"Okay...how the hell would I be able to fake _that_?" I asked honestly.

The man - I assumed this was Brejik due to his stupid persistency - smiled back at me shaking his own head. He glanced towards the poor duro coordinator who backed up behind his microphone enhanced desk that was echoing our conversations to the entire floor.

He laughed once. "Swoop bike accelerators are illegal on this circuit and Gadon bought one from the Exchange before Taris went under the Sith's radar. So...that's how you cheated!"

Really? I brought my hand up to my head and scratched it nervously. That bastard Gadon...he really did have all of his bases covered. He didn't expect me to live through this, did he? Well, he was going to have a few words from me after all of this is over.

I shrugged back at Brejik with a pursed smirk. "You don't exactly have the proof now, do you?" I responded.

I thanked the Force that my bike exploded into smithereens after that race, despite the casualties it caused. I know...I'm a coldhearted bastard.

Brejik puffed up and glared towards the duro.

"Disqualify him!" he shouted at the poor alien.

The coordinator ducked even further. "I-I-The rules don't say anything about this...I mean...that was impossible - "

"Then I'm taking back the Vulkar's share of the swoop prize!"

There were a few gasps and confused glances - mostly coming from the smaller gangs. Some of the Beks around me were angry and alarmed and my heart was beginning to skip. He couldn't do that, could he? Force...that race had better been for something rather than nothing! I was going to punch something if it was...

The duro peeked up from underneath the desk. "B-But you can't do tha-"

Another blaster shot from the Vulkars and the poor coordinator went down, his body turning off the sound systems with a screech. Did he have something against duros and ithorians or something? He really needed to tone down the aggression. That wasn't really helping to cool my own desire of killing him in the most painful of ways. The Beks turned their blasters off of stun and I raised my own, pointing it directly at this bastard Brejik.

I didn't want it to come to this. I mean, if we were going to have a fight, why didn't we do it before I almost raced to my death? This man who had once been a Hidden Bek raised his own blaster to point at me and neither of us made a move.

Suddenly, something moved in Bastila's cage. The Vulkar who stood in front of it shouted out, his eyes widening when two hands came from beyond the bars and bashed his head into the hard surface. I quickly averted my gaze from Brejik to stare at the open cage.

The Black Vulkar leader was frantic. "H-How? I put you on a neural disrupter!"

As if in answer, the collar fell to the ground beside the Jedi, her grey eyes focused entirely on the dark skinned man.

"You underestimate the strength of a Jedi's mind, Brejik. A mistake you won't live to regret."

...she just let herself out? And... she could have done this...whenever? I glared at her when I realized that she had wasted my precious time. Can you breakout a little more convenient for people like me who just risked his neck on a suicidal swoop race? Please and thank you.

The Vulkars glanced around in surprise, pointing their blasters around in confusion as if not really understanding who they should shoot.

Brejik growled. "Kill the swoop rider! Kill the Beks! Kill them all!"

Well...no need to be so quick about this...You can't exactly kill all of us so easily...right? Especially a Jedi...

I ducked quickly when Brejik shot his blaster at me and used the desk with the dead duro as cover from the Black Vulkars. Some other Beks thought of the same idea and came beside me, throwing grenades and rifle shots over the sparking desk. I heard a few shouts and glanced up as Bastila twirled in the air like a bird with her newly acquired vibroblade. She stabbed at one of the Vulkars that guarded her and his parsed screams were enough to assure me that the Jedi was okay.

I shot out from beyond the desk and hit a twi'lek Vulkar - that same one that had cursed me out on the swoop race track. Smirking at the sweet revenge, I ducked again as a grenade came flying in our direction...and flew straight back at them. The Black Vulkars barely reacted when it exploded in their faces.

That Jedi really was something...using the Force to throw their own attacks back at them. It made me grateful, for a split second, that I was on the side of the Jedi. I think...

That all changed when Bastila appeared like a bad headache and shoved something over the side of the desk and into me.

Force damn, I was trying to avoid danger right now...

I groaned in slight surprise, shoving the dead Vulkar off of me only to jump when Brejik came barreling over the desk. I hadn't even noticed when the Beks beside me were shot down so I had no back up fire. Brejik tackled me with his blaster, my own weapon spinning away. I was quick to take my knife out and return the offensive, grunting as I tried to push this bag of meat off me. Using my head, as always, I hit him squarely in the jaw.

Fortunately, I happened to be stronger than this thin Vulkar leader and threw him away quickly. I stood, breathing quickly, grabbing my blaster and pointing it at him.

He coughed once. "Please...I surrender..."

A few more screams came from Bastila's direction.

My eyebrows scrunched up in disbelief as I came closer to the Vulkar, his lip busted where I headbutted him. I sneered.

"Surrender? Are you serious? You think I would show you any mercy after what you did?" I said lowly, remembering the face of that poor girl and the slaves I had to leave behind.

I heard a few more blaster shots but I knew that the brown haired Jedi could take care of herself.

Brejik coughed again. "I...misunderstood this responsibility. I just wanted Gadon to see that I was right! I...I never meant - "

I pulled the trigger unconsciously, Brejik's body jumping when the blaster shot hit him silently. I hadn't even realized what I had done...and only a few seconds later when the firefight died down did I take in my handy work. I killed him...just like I promised...and yet, why didn't I feel satisfied? This guy was a monster...

I grimaced as I looked away from the Vulkar leader's body, spotting Bastila from across the room. The crowd was all in an uproar - I began to worry about Mission and the other two's safety. I really hope they weren't caught in a mob.

I sighed in slight relief, walking towards Bastila. We were the only two still alive, all of the swoop racers who participated dead on the ground. I frowned at the massacre that we both somehow survived then smirked, looking towards Bastila.

She sighed as she bent over a dead Vulkar.

"What am I to do now..."

"Well..." I began slowly, rubbing my head. "We could probably start by leaving..."

She twisted around quickly, standing up to face me. When our eyes met, I was reminded of that time on that Republic carrier ship when she gave me that shocked sad look...as if she knew something that the whole galaxy shouldn't pry upon.

That look disappeared quickly and turned into a glare as she crossed her arms.

"You...You're...that soldier. From the Endar Spire. You survived?"

I smirked crookedly. "Well...yeah a _soldier_...of course I survived..."

I didn't really want to tell her that I was a smuggler either. I mean...I'm pretty sure I dealt with the Sith once...or twice. These Jedi were serious with the dark side light side crap.

"And...?" she asked.

I frowned, scratching my head. What exactly did she want now? We had to leave this dump before people realized we weren't all dead up here...

"And..._what_?" I asked in return.

"What are _you_ doing here?" she finished.

I hadn't even noticed when my own angry thoughts surfaced into my voice.

"_What am I doing here_?" I half-shouted, narrowing my eyes. "I risked my neck by crashing a Sith party, by walking through the Lowercity, by almost being shot to death by a crazed bounty hunter, by defeating a rancor of all things, by climbing through a gang's base to only rescue a freaking wookie, by being conned into racing with a swoop that could explode in my face and all you can say is 'what are you doing here?' _Really_?"

She raised her eyebrows. "Are you done?"

My face felt hot. I couldn't...I just couldn't believe this. After sacrificing my own pride and listening to Carth's orders...I'm treated to this unappreciative Jedi.

"I _rescued_ you," I muttered, matter-of-factly.

She tilted her head, that annoying amused look still on her face.

"Rescued me?" she said. "I think I let myself out of that cage without your help. Some rescuing you did. Actually, you are more correct to say that I rescued you."

Force...she was being difficult.

"_How_?" I asked with a dry tone. "I protected myself all throughout that fight."

"Not the fight," she responded. "The swoop race. I used battle meditation on those other riders after I broke that collar. You weren't exactly...winning."

I didn't really know how I felt about that...I definitely felt slightly less accomplished then before. Heh, so I really did cheat on that race. I glanced towards Brejik's corpse empathetically.

No..._no_...she didn't save me at all.

I looked away from the body. "Well...I won that race anyway so I own you now," I said.

When I glanced back at her, that victory like smile disappeared from her face.

"No one _owns_ me," she said quickly. "And you really thought that a Jedi couldn't get out of that situation herself?"

"You looked pretty defenseless to me, 'Jedi,'" I retorted, shrugging.

Her face scrunched up.

"I only appeared defenseless so those guards didn't start suspecting something. Do you think I'm that stupid?"

Wow...she was the only one who tried to argue against my snarky retorts? She probably should learn how to let me have the last word...maybe?

I raised my eyebrows, smirking. "Well...you _look_ stupid," I said, pointing with my eyes at her embarrassing hooker costume.

Her face froze when I looked her over and she turned away quickly with a red face, heading towards the exit. She looked over the lock once and waved her hand, using her Jedi magic to get us out of this situation.

It was strangely silent as I peered past the Jedi only for her to glare back at me. I didn't stink that much, did I? Well... I had been climbing through gamorrean infested sewers so I probably smelled like death right now. She deserved that anyway after her caustic remarks.

I took a step forward, my blaster beside me.

"Follow me. I know the quickest way out," I said.

The crowds were all rushing around like little bugs, I think I even saw Zax leaving with a bounty hunter squad surrounding him. I glanced around and spotted an elevator that was in lock down and sighed as I tried to mess with it. I was no hacker...but I could try and get it out of the frozen state it was in.

"Were there any others? Survivors I mean," she suddenly asked.

I looked at her quickly before turning back towards the elevator panel again.

"We don't really have time-"

"Just yes or no," she said.

I blinked once in shock after hearing her depressed voice. I thought the only emotion she had was stuck up her ass. I groaned as I messed with the alien letters, slapping it when the thing wouldn't cooperate - asking over and over again for a keycard. These damn machines.

I began walking forward and I totally forgot Bastila's question. I narrowed my eyes when she came into my view beside me, her grey eyes annoyed looking.

I sighed with reproached impatience.

"Just that commander. He was the only one I was with..." I said.

A few people ran past us as I searched for the manual way up, glaring at a few Black Vulkars. They were all smart enough not to mess with us though.

Bastila's face was relieved. "Carth Onasi is alive? Finally some good news. I was worried that I left the commander to his death when I crashed on Taris. Maybe I misjudged you...Carth wouldn't have sent you if he didn't trust in your...abilities."

I stopped walking and turned."What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.

The Jedi stopped with me, crossing her arms. "Well...if I remember correctly, you were just a recruit on the Endar Spire. I'm quite amazed that such a low ranking officer was able to escape the ship and survive down here. And, if Carth Onasi believed that you were capable enough to race then you must be more then you appear to be."

I flinched at her remark and continued to walk, a few other people running past us. How was she able to do that? Unlike the pilot who demanded answers, this Jedi just flat out guessed them all. Well, except for one minor detail.

I grinned.

"Of _course_ I'm capable. In fact, the only reason I'm here is because _Onasi_ was incapable."

Bastila narrowed her eyes. "What are you talking about?"

I didn't answer as I held up a blaster to a sneaky looking Black Vulkar who was trying to get into a different elevator. When he raised his own pistol I shot him down and ran up to the panel, grinning when I saw the keycard inserted.

I found the floor the Bek base was on and pressed it quickly, looking back towards Bastila and shoved the dazed Jedi past the open doors.

"Ladies first," I said.

Her face scrunched up again and I smiled back at her.

"You didn't answer my question," she said.

I followed her in and finally relaxed when the elevator closed. Probably the cleanest getaway I've ever done. Let's hope that the situation doesn't change. I looked down when I noticed that Bastila was still glaring at me.

"What?" I asked.

"You don't really pay attention at all...do you?"

I smirked at her when she said that, walking forward when the elevator stopped on an empty floor where the Hidden Bek base was. _Don't really pay attention_...she's seen like - what - five minutes of me and she could already tell? This Jedi kept up with my pace easily so losing her on foot was no option.

I sighed. "You'll see soon enough."

**W**

We arrived at the base around midnight. The Hidden Beks were all in shambles, there had been many casualties during the race and the battle afterward. Some were sitting on the ground, covering their grieving face with their hands. Some were looking up at us with hate in their eyes. I swallowed nervously as I led the Jedi to the medbay, intent on showing the pilot my success.

Mission was already there with the little kid looking up at me with a relieved face. Zaalbar was no where to be seen.

Something like a boulder ran into me...

"Wes! You won that race and...that was just amazing!"

Mission had begun suffocating me again. I smiled over towards Bastila. Yeah, I know..._I_ won that race. And I will not let that down.

"Are you alright?" I asked when she finally released me.

She frowned. "Zaalbar was hurt a bit in the rush out but otherwise we're all okay. He said it was just a scratch and barreled through those Vulkars like a trooper!"

Another instance of this wookie's brash nature...

Carth's eyes widened when he saw the Jedi. He looked a bit better, so much so that he flung his legs out of the bed. Kolto bandages were wrapped around his legs and his arm was still in a sling but otherwise he looked healthier than last time.

"Bastila!" he winced. "You're alive! Things are starting to look up! Now we just need to find a way off this planet. And...what are you wearing?"

I smirked as I glanced over to Bastila who was still wearing that outfit Brejik made her wear. I wondered when she would ever decide to get rid of it...unless she _liked_ wearing those scantily clad clothes.

The Jedi narrowed her eyes. "Nothing. Just...forget this for now."

I really doubt anyone would want to forget _that_.

"What happened while I was gone? And what do you mean you haven't found a way off this planet? What have you been doing?" she asked quickly, so quickly I had to make sure she said those words.

I rolled my eyes. "We were trying to find you, remember?"

Bastila sighed. "That's no real help. You should have been more focused on getting out of here, not skipping around doing who knows what."

I sighed, sitting on a bed beside Carth's. Well...this was getting rather tiring...

The pilot's face went red.

"_Skipping around_ - we were trying to find you Bastila. You didn't really expect us to just sit around and wait for the Sith to capture you, right?" Carth said, leaning back.

"We could be leaving now if you had found passage off of this planet. Now, that I'm back in charge maybe we can start by doing some things right."

"We _couldn't_ find passage off of this planet. We are _quarantined_. What do you expect?"

Bastila huffed once before looking away. "Well...as your upper officer, Carth I expected more from you. I've helped the army win more than enough battles with the use of Battle Meditation. I'm sure that my abilites will be of more use then...what ever you have been trying to do so far."

Great, what a nice way to pull rank...Mission was getting agitated along with the little boy that had jumped up to sit beside me. I frowned, leaning forward, holding my head and covering my eyes.

"You guys are kinda loud. Can you take your domestic dispute somewhere else?" I muttered, pulling my hand through my hair. "And does it really matter what we did or didn't do right now? We need to get off Taris...isn't that more important than fighting over who's the line leader like spoiled children?"

My voice was cracking a bit. After all, I was rather tired...I had gone through two days already without proper sleep. Was it too much to ask for some peace and quiet?

Bastila narrowed her eyes at me. Oh no, what was the Jedi going to say now?

"I...I'm sorry. I've been through a lot recently. For now...it's probably best that we rested."

Wow...hadn't expected her to say "I'm sorry." Maybe I misjudged this Jedi.

I wondered where we would sleep after she said that. I doubted the Beks wanted us around anymore. The apartment was in the Uppercity and at least a few hours walk. Carth looked healthy but not healthy enough for a morning jog.

I looked towards the twi'lek and she shrugged and waved her hand at both Bastila and I. I guess we were going to sleep in those uncomfortable bunks again... I was not looking forward to it.

The little tach monkey (I had no other name for him) jumped up and attached himself to me again. I frowned, pulling the little kid off quickly.

"Look...you don't have to follow me everywhere, right?" I said, placing him on the ground as I stood.

He sighed and muttered, "But..."

...Wait, I understood that. I shook my head slightly then tilted my head as Mission began to lead us away. I stared down at the kid for a long time, wondering if the little slave wasn't just playing with me and jumped when Bastila stood before me.

"Are you coming?" she asked.

I looked between the kid and the Jedi before smiling, shaking my head.

"Must have been my imagination," I muttered, walking forward.

The Jedi came up beside me.

"What was your imagination?" she asked.

Mission was leading us to the accursed bunks when I shook my head, still dazed. I must have been too tired, that was it. Fatigue playing with my mind.

"Nothing."

**W**

I woke up from another restless sleep, shaking my head as the dream I had repeated in my mind over and over again. They were getting worse, those dreams, right after we returned to the apartment.

I was sleeping on the ground - my own bed taken over by Mission who was snoozing peacefully, unaware of the troubles below. She had insisted she come with us after hearing about the wookie's life debt and waved goodbye to Hidden Beks for now.

Gadon...he was still in mourning after I debriefed him of what happened. I didn't know why...Brejik had become a monster. He should have been understanding, not depressed and heartbroken.

I sighed as I sat up from the ground, rubbing my face from the sleep that I rarely had anymore. A few days had past after the swoop race and every night afterward was always the same, the battle between Revan and Bastila. I was pretty sure I had the turn of events aboard that ship memorized. I glanced over towards the Jedi now - she was sleeping on the floor after I convinced her that the pilot needed soft ground to heal off the rest of his wounds. Surprisingly, she didn't argue.

I shook the blanket off of my form and grabbed my blaster. I was in the need for another midnight stroll around the building. What else was I supposed to do? I couldn't go back to sleep. Slipping on boots quietly, I made my way to the door, checking to make sure that Mission and the little kid were still fast asleep. Nodding to myself, I turned around again and began to head out.

Then, suddenly, I felt a presence and lashed out behind me. My hand was caught deftly and it took a few seconds for me to realize bright grey eyes were peering at me from the night.

"Where are you going?" the pompous Jedi asked.

I narrowed my eyes. "Force...don't scare me like that. I almost hit you..."

And, again, why does anyone care about where I was going? Have I made friends of stalkers? And were these crazy people even my friends?

The Jedi Commander wore civilian clothes after I teased her enough about that stupid outfit. When we came up here - with Sith papers that Zaedra provided - Carth insisted that she wear an old cloak and normal clothes to hide her identity. Since these Sith were morons, however, I doubted that they would be able to tell who she was anyway.

Bastila narrowed her eyes back. "That is beside the point. What I want to know is where you think you're going this late at night."

I rolled my eyes, opening the door.

"Who are you, my mother?" I said, raising my hands. "Alright, alright you've caught me. I've been sneaking out of the house to crash cantinas that I'm not allowed to go to. Please don't ground me."

Bastila closed the door again somehow and I turned fully to glare at the Jedi. She really didn't know how to take a joke, did she?

The Jedi's been like this ever since we returned to the apartment, always keeping an eye on me like a stalker. I really shouldn't have been surprised when she decided to follow me out like a mother who caught her son sneaking out of the house with a girl. Really.

I sighed. "Can't I just have a nice evening stroll once and awhile?" I asked, glaring at her.

She silently stared at me, kind of off putting yet calming at the same time. I wonder if that was just the effect these Jedi had on people - they seem protective yet cruel. However, for Bastila, she grew crueler and crueler as the minutes went by.

"I could sense that you were...disturbed when we joined forces."

My annoyed looked turned into that very emotion she described. Okay, so now she was using her Jedi powers to poke and prod into my mind. The apartment was small enough already...and she had to take my psychological space away from me as well?

I smirked. "When I rescued you, you mean."

She sighed. "This again? I undoubtedly remember rescuing and protecting myself in that fight."

Remembering fighting those Vulkars...and how I killed Brejik afterward made me flinch. I wondered if she could sense that? I felt myself growing red slightly.

"That doesn't exactly give you an excuse to snoop through my mind with your physic powers now, does it?"

The Jedi frowned - was she actually feeling guilty for what she did?

"I'm sorry but I couldn't help but notice. You...you have a certain effect on the Force that I cannot explain. I've felt it ever sense that swoop race and the battle afterward. Mission told me the details and I find the situation quite...odd."

I snorted, hitting the manual button to the door and stomped outside.

"Well it sounds as if you don't even know what you're talking about."

If we were going to be talking about such stupid things then I at least wanted to have the view of the "lovely" Tarisian skyline.

Bastila followed me out. "You race a swoop that is supposed to explode after too much activity. The accelerator eventually overheats one of the engines and what happens? Your swoop keeps on going like nothing was wrong. I mean...you may or may not have the ability but we need to consider-"

"No...just stop _talking_. That isn't...what you are trying to say can't be _possible_! That wasn't..."

I stopped slowly and leaned against the far hallway wall, my face shaded in darkness created by the low budgeted lights. What happened to that swoop...that was just my dumb luck acting up again. I was used to it, as a smuggler, things would just happen the way that I wanted them to. But me using the - ?

Ha...this Jedi was trying to find hope in everything wasn't she?

She walked closer to me but I didn't turn to look back at her. What she was saying...I just couldn't believe what she was saying...

"You might not want to listen to me...but I've sensed that the Force has been working through you...in some way."

I was livid.

"Working through me? You can't actually be serious."

"How else were you able to avoid the Sith's detection, discover my location, kill a rancor, invade that Vulkar base all on your own, _and_ gain sponsorship for the race? That is quite a resume."

I smirked, looking away again. "What can I say? I'm a talented individual."

Bastila walked directly in the space I was gazing in, forcing me to look at her.

"Yes, I can see you don't lack in ability. Although _modesty_ is another matter," she said.

I rolled my eyes. Modesty was a weakness that people liked to plague themselves with. If all of us were as assured about this as I was, maybe the Republic would actually get stuff done. Like protecting the people from Sith or Mandalorians or...any other threat.

I began to walk past her. "Maybe so...but the Force?" I laughed, throwing those words over my shoulder. "I think you underestimate us non-Jedi."

What would using the Force help me to achieve? I heard of the Jedi many times and their death defying feats - even saw a lightsaber or two in the black markets - but to actually chain myself down and become one? I was born to travel the Outer Rim...not to sit around like a chastised monk and preach about becoming one with the Force. Jedi Knights, I heard, traveled around but always under orders. Never by choice.

And I lived by choice. I choose to be this way and I wanted to stick with it.

What Bastila was telling me was not what I wanted to hear. At all. And...how, after the twenty nine odd years I had been alive, was I suddenly "Force Sensitive?"

A hand grabbed my shoulder after I traveled around the apartment floor. I hadn't even noticed that I'd passed Bastila but apparently, I had walked all the way around.

I turned to face the worried looking Jedi. "I may not be a Jedi Master and these new abilities that somehow manifested themselves within you might be unfamiliar...but the Force works in mysterious ways. At times, it is better to accept what might be true than to deny the truth entirely."

I stopped my anger right then and there and gave the Jedi a curious look. I didn't want her to be right...but if I was Force sensitive then I wanted to know about it. Having some unknown hidden power inside me didn't sound safe considering I rarely ever was safe. And with the Sith out and about...my heart sank as I sighed and slid down to the ground against the wall.

Then again, a few things had been a bit...off about our whole trip in Taris, all starting with that Sith guard, then that lightsaber having a mind of its own, until finally the swoop bike started controlling itself. These things were all falling like cantina dominoes, weren't they? Like a crime scene suddenly revealing the killer to be the victim - me - after all this time.

I felt a body beside me and glanced over to the Jedi. I gave her a second look, peering down. How strange...her eyes looked older and wiser than she was really at times. That nightmare came back to me again and in it those eyes had been determined yet...maybe a little sad. She swiped her dark pigtails over her shoulder and gave me a look.

"You want to say something?" she asked, her eyebrows lifting.

I looked away from her eyes when the words suddenly spilled out of my mouth.

"I've been dreaming about you." I flinched slightly, realizing how creepy that sounded and amended. "I mean...I dreamed about you and Revan. Fighting in a space battle. Do you...know what that means?"

Her old eyes appeared hurt and she looked away from me as if I slapped her. Maybe...Revan was a sour topic around the Battle Meditator? He definitely didn't look or act pleasant. Since we were metaphorically being held hostage by the Sith, mentioning Revan probably wasn't a good idea at all when Malak - his apprentice - was trying to find her.

However, I was curious and these nightmares were starting to piss me off. I wanted to rid myself of them but at the same time I wondered how these dreams were getting into my brain to start with.

"Hey, you two." We both jumped when an old man called to us. The grey haired man wore a janitor's uniform and was scrubbing the floors with a droid. "This is the second time I've cleaned this hallway because of you. Now, do you mind getting up?"

After a while, Bastila finally stood and began to walk away.

I shot up quickly with her.

"Hey...where are you going?"

For once, I was asking that question.

Before she opened the door to the apartment, she turned to stare back at me.

"I...I don't know what to say about that. Without proper wisdom, I doubt I could answer what that dream really means. But maybe, someday, you will be given answers."

Hey...all I wanted was for these dreams to go away and not go looking for answers. If the Force was giving me these visions...then I at least wanted to learn how to force them away. Literally.

And...if applying myself to the Jedi's teachings for little bit would help me solve that problem, then why wouldn't I? Ha, that was crazy for me to say. Though...maybe I was just a fluke. If these Jedi realized I was just that then I would be happy. No, ecstatic.

The door opened and Bastila left without warning. I should probably be careful with what I say around her. She must have been disturbed after being held hostage by Brejik for so long. I know I would.

"Excuse me, boy?" the old man asked. I turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow. "How long are you going to stand here?"

Sighing, I glanced out the window towards the rising Tarisian sun. The Sith fleet were like dark clouds in the horizon and just seeing them made me shiver. Like...I could sense something in the sky. Trying not to worry too much about it, I faced the old man again.

"I'm sorry...but who are you?"

The janitor pursed his lips with annoyance, raising the cleaning droid up like a weapon.

"I clean these floors and you younger people still give me no damn respect. I already told you, a few days ago? When I asked you _politely_ to stop walking around here so late at night? Your boots aren't that clean you know..."

Right...I still had gamorrean crap all over my shoes. That stuff will probably take years before it completely comes off. Even soup and water wouldn't be able to get rid of the stuff. Even still, I couldn't remember this janitor's name. And it didn't really matter.

I snorted and began to walk away, only to hear the janitor mutter a few curses towards me, turning on his cleaning droid to get rid of the muck I left. I glanced one more time at the Sith fleet...

_A pale bald man with a metal jaw._

I shook my head when that strange image entered my mind. I was going crazy, wasn't I? First that boy speaking to me in Basic and now random images entering my head. A shrink in Coruscant would have deemed me insane the second I walked across their carpets.

Shrugging, I entered the apartment again to try and get back some lost sleep. We only had to leave...and yet those black dots in the sky were preventing even that. We were so close...yet so far away.

The next day, we grew even closer with the help of a scarred Mandalorian.


	9. The Plan

**Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic**

* * *

**Strong Winds**

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

"Where are we going?" Carth asked me as we walked the streets.

The hunt for a way off of this planet went nowhere despite Bastila's insistence that her Battle Meditation or whatever could help. This was Carth and I's third attempt at eavesdropping around the Sith. So far, all we came up with were bratty little kids that liked to pick on ithorians and a xenophobic old man. The base a few miles away from the apartment was apparently full of Sith officers. Even though I was crazy enough to ride a swoop bike in a race, I wasn't crazy enough to go snooping around in there.

And then there were the rumors. About some Ebon Hawk that Davik Kang somehow got his hands onto before the Sith came along. Apparently, he was the only person that avoided the embargo and confiscation of all ships and speeders.

I forgot exactly what Carth asked as I glanced around at the few speeders that were left - mostly all driven by Sith. A ship was leaving port, its wings folding out and gliding up into space.

An elbow knocked into mine as Carth expressed his annoyance. I really didn't feel like dealing with the pilot right now.

Especially since...

Mission came up beside us with large steps, glaring at us. "Whacha guys talking about?"

I hadn't noticed it until now, but my frown was heavily set into my face. Right now...the shuttles of Sith seemed so much more interesting than whatever we were trying to do. Which was...my eyebrows scrunched up. What were we doing again?

The blue twi'lek suddenly appeared again and I bulked when I felt a hard surface connect with my shin. Making grand waves with my arms, I stumbled yet still fell down onto the dirty streets. I groaned, quickly pushing myself back up.

I scrubbed myself in the cold shower at least _five times_ to get rid of the gamorrean stench and now I was once again filthy. And no, the streets of Taris weren't as filthy as the sewers but it definitely _felt _like the rich people here dumped on everything.

Carth was giving me one of his suspicious looks and Mission was giving me a concerned one.

"Are you alright? You've been dazed all morning. Did something happen?" she asked.

Beside the fact that I rarely got any sleep anymore...? Beside the fact that I could be Force sensitive? Beside the fact that the Sith could kill all of us at any moment? I looked away from her and began to trudge forward again.

"It's nothing. Let's just keep going..."

Again, I had no idea where to go. I didn't want to say anything about that and look like a total moron however.

Carth snorted. "That's what I asked you. Where are we going?"

I looked over my shoulder.

"Why don't you decide, Commander Orangy?"

He was, in fact, wearing his orange jacket again just as how I was wearing my red one. Cheap armor bought with little credits didn't deserve to grace my perfect form.

...No, but really, it was more of a danger to wear those second hand Hidden Bek left overs. During the fight with the Black Vulkars, my armor was tugged and burnt in places that looked painful. Carth's had been ripped into cortosis shreds of fiber by the rakghoul's claws.

There went the rest of my credits, all wasted in one day on pathetic pieces of shit.

I swear...if I met Zax again I would have to remind him that he owed me a few thousand for winning that race.

Carth was glaring at me. _Finally,_ someone to fight with.

"Because I have run out of ideas. We checked all the cantinas on this side and nothing. We checked Sith apartment buildings and stations but there was still nothing. At least...not without causing a scene. We're running out of options."

I sighed, looking up into the sky and spotted the Sith fleet. They were literally like a shadow creeping over our shoulders. We were running out of time, weren't we?

Mission came alongside Carth.

"There are still a few cantinas we haven't checked yet," she said."They're not exactly..._nice _but what else could we do?"

The pilot looked down at her. "And how does a kid know this?"

The twi'lek pouted. "I'm not -!"

"-a kid. I get it. But still...I wonder how you've lasted this long on Taris all on your own without any help."

I barely noticed when the twilek stopped walking and almost missed the glare that she was giving the pilot. He really liked to piss everyone off, didn't he?

"That isn't true! The Hidden Beks and Big Z help me and even then I can take good care of myself on my own." She huffed then began to walk away. "In fact, when I met Zaalbar, I was the one who saved him. Some Black Vulkars were trying to swindle him in a cantina. He didn't know much about the big city so I told them to shove it. Then, without warning, he just picked them off of the ground like nothing!"

I smirked, remembering feeling petrified when he did that to me.

"And he bludgeoned them to death?" I asked.

The twi'lek looked over towards me and shook her head rapidly. "Of course not! Big Z might look and act tough but he's really a softy on the inside. They ran off screaming like cowards."

I snorted. Yeah...a softy that liked slamming poor people's heads in with metal bars. I'm not sure that Mission really knew Zaalbar despite how close they appeared...

The blue twi'lek huffed and glanced back towards Carth.

"What I'm trying to say is that you don't have to be an old geezer to know the streets around here. Big Z is probably twice your age and he had no idea what he was doing when I found him. So, don't underestimate me."

Normally I wouldn't take a kid like her seriously but she hasn't yet got in our way. Unlike that other little squirt, I never really felt the need to protect or rescue her from anything. And...somehow she reminded me of myself when I was her age. Streetsmart and savvy. Maybe she wasn't crazy after all. She was just another me so...why should I pass judgment on her?

Carth didn't seem convinced. The damn bastard was never convinced.

"I just find it a problem that someone your age has to learn the streets in the first place. Especially on Taris."

The twi'lek looked offended, her raised hand throwing her lekku over her shoulder. "_Especially on Taris_? What's that supposed to mean?"

The tone of her voice grew in volume however the orange jacketed pilot was still not convinced.

"Well...Taris isn't exactly the best planet for a kid to be living on. With what I've seen so far the place is a complete and utter mess."

The teenager smiled as if she discovered the murderer to a crime and it happened to be Carth.

"But...but that's only since the Sith invasion. Everything was fine before."

I frowned at this and the words seemed to spill out of my fatigued mouth as I brushed my chin.

"Well...last I came here it wasn't really much different. But then again...I didn't see much..." I muttered, looking down into the Lowercity.

The twi'lek pounced on this.

"You've been here before?" she remarked with a bright questioning voice.

"You've been here _before_?" Carth repeated but with a darker tone.

_Shit_. I looked up quickly, dropping my hand. "Er...I meant..."

I didn't want to bring up what I was before I "joined" the Republic Navy. The look that Onasi was giving me was dangerous and dark. I could already tell what he was going to say.

"Why exactly did you come here before? I highly doubt that any normal person would want to come _here_."

Mission looked offended again. "What are you saying? People visit Taris all the time!"

"Taris isn't exactly a vacation spot, Mission. In fact, _kind_ people don't visit Taris unless they are trying to liberate it. And this has been the second time."

Sweat began to build up on my forehead. I was far too exhausted to be dealing with Carth's paranoia. In fact, all I wanted was a nice hot bath or maybe even a massage? I doubted that Carth would want to give me either one of those and...that would be rather disturbing coming from him.

I stepped away from the side of the street and began to walk away. The pilot began to call after me but I ignored him as I found the nearest cantina - surprisingly one that we missed before. I really needed a drink...despite it being in the middle of the day. Maybe that was why we always came up with nothing, we searched cantinas at the wrong time.

So stupid...

The Sith bouncer gave me a look as I stomped past him and supposedly gave Mission and Carth a look as they went by. I wondered why he didn't bother stopping the teenager like all the other times before I realized that we were in the shady area of the Uppercity.

Coincidentally.

Loud electric music pounded into my head and I walked past gambling tables and groups of laughing Uppercity folk. If Carth was still calling after me, I couldn't hear him anymore.

I decided on sitting at the bar to get a quick fix and didn't even look up when Mission jumped into the seat beside me. When my drink came, Carth joined me on the right side. I decided that Mission was better to look at than this Republic soldier.

"You're paying for the round. You still owe me 1,000 anyway," I muttered lowly and to no one in particular. I drank deeply, draining half of the cup. The soldier beside me was giving me an incredulous look and grabbed my wrist as I finished the chug.

"Look...just stop, alright?"

I forced my hand down and glared at him as he released me - some of the drink spilling out onto my sleeve.

"I'm not Saul," I said lowly. "Why don't _you_ stop trying to find enemies in everyone. That's all that I've heard coming out of your mouth. Should it even matter what I used to be?"

When I asked that question, Onasi grew red.

"Of course it matters. If you were some Sith spy I would want to know about it. How am I wrong to suspect you? Actually, you know what, if you were innocent then you wouldn't even care about this anyway."

The song changed into something more upbeat and enraging. A few people on the dance floor were shouting words of praise and whooping into the air. I looked off, past the wine and alcohol fridges, and sighed taking another drink.

The teenager beside me was giving me a sad eye...as if she was blaming herself for this fight me and Carth were having. She might have brought up the topic but...this wasn't her fault. It was the damn pilot.

I didn't bother asking for another drink as I stood up, glancing at Carth who was gazing up at me.

"You know what, I don't even care anymore. I was a smuggler, right? I came here to Taris a few years back to deal with the Exchange. The Corellian run, right? I was recruited by the Republic for my language abilities or _whatever _dumb reason they decided to throw me on your stupidly named ship. You happy you got your fucking answers?"

For some reason...Carth didn't look happy or proud that he got those answers from me. Mission was looking back at me with a reproachful look though I didn't really feel like talking to the twi'lek anymore.

I walked away and tread through the dance floor, bumping into beautiful twi'leks and dark eyed humans. Many of the dancers were glaring at me as I pushed them aside. I didn't even really care what I was trying to do anymore.

Before long I was on the other side with a hallway that I created of people through the middle of the dance floor. A few twi'leks were singing with bith percussionists on the stage and those who didn't like to dance were all sitting at tables lit with low red lights.

I was surprised to see a mandalorian looking up from one of those tables - caught in the middle of a heated discussion with a dark haired man.

He smirked at me when our eyes met and returned his gaze to the man.

"Davik won't be waiting for long. He isn't a patient man and hopefully you've heard that mandalorians aren't either."

The man stood up quickly and gave the mando a dark eye. "You will hear from Czerka once the Sith leave the skies."

The warrior raised his eyebrows. "If you get out of this alive, you mean?"

The man Canderous was talking to didn't bother to argue and instead stomped off past me and towards the exit. I eyed this mandalorian curiously and he motioned to the seat in front of him, lighting a cigar after I sat.

"I was surprised to see you at that swoop race. You have to be the most ballsy human I've ever met." He laughed once with the brand between his teeth. "Well...besides Revan of course."

I raised my eyebrows when he mentioned the dead Sith Lord but otherwise I was more worried about what he said before.

"You were at the swoop race?"

He blew out a puff of smoke. "Davik wanted me to come as his bodyguard. It's what I'm stuck with now, licking the boots of this damn Exchange."

"And you _apparently _don't like licking their boots?"

He smirked as he took another draw of the cigar, blowing the thick smoke in my face. I coughed once and glared at the mando. Watch what you're doing with that...

"You catch on quick. I'm tired of working for Davik and his Exchange. As a mandalorian, working as a lowlife mercenary isn't going to cut it. Fortunately, I ran into someone as crazy as you are. I have a proposition for you."

I raised my eyebrows, leaning back. "You have my attention."

But not Carth's. Or Bastila's. Or anyone's really.

The mandalorian continued to smile and leaned back in response. "Where should I begin...?"

**W**

"No."

I raised my eyebrows when I finished telling Bastila what Canderous had told me.

"Come on. Do you really think we'll get any other opportunities?"

The evening was growing slowly outside the high windows and smells of the reheated food we had for dinner was still in the air. The wookie, who was never satisfied when it came to food, grumbled at us for starving him to death.

Bastila sighed deeply, glancing towards the person that was sitting across from her. And I refused to look at that person. When I left the cantina, Carth and Mission just followed behind me like shadows. Neither of them spoke a word until we got to the run down apartment building. Mission began to chat like a maniac about the bath she planned to give Zaalbar when we got back. Of course...she was going to use the roundabout way that she always used around the filthy wookie - by spraying water all over him.

However, she has yet to put that plan into action and I realized belatedly that she was only trying to get me to laugh or at least look at her. I didn't really say much around her after that.

The Jedi glanced wearily away from that person. "I find it hard to trust a mandalorian and his plans especially if he's from the Exchange. What if this is a trap?"

I rolled my eyes, picking up my plate from the small table and throwing it on top of the other dirty dishes. We haven't bothered really doing anything to tidy ourselves since we wanted to _leave_ Taris and not _live _here.

"I doubt this is a trap. The mando could have killed me whenever he wanted to. He has nothing to gain tricking us."

"Except that he saw you with me at the race. He could easily just want me to give to the Sith."

I gave her a lidded look and sat lazily on the couch, the small boy giving me a tired smile. He was always quiet around us and he hadn't been so clingy since we came up here. In fact, he was starting to enjoy Mission's company even more despite the wookie's menacing appearance.

Even so, his expression was always heartbroken and tired - almost as if I was looking at a child mirror like image of myself.

The Jedi got up herself along with Carth who remained strangely silent during this conversation. I wondered why, it was his favorite subject after all. And if he agreed with Bastila it would be two against one.

The brunette Telravin shook her head. "And what he is suggesting...going into a Sith base? That will only endanger our position more than it already is."

"But we have no other choice. And would a Mandalorian really care what the Sith want? I doubt that this guy works for the credits."

He worked to shed blood and cause terror, that's what.

I think that I almost convinced her because she was giving me that annoyed look. She knew that I was right about this but didn't want to concede the point.

She sat across from me and beside the tach monkey. He gave her a curious look before heading towards Mission who was messing with a device in the corner. I wondered briefly if that was a hose since the glances she gave Zaalbar who was still whimpering about food were not kind.

The Jedi sighed. "There is no convincing you I see. I...suppose there is a chance this Canderous isn't lying-"

"He isn't. Trust me."

The Jedi huffed at my interruption.

"_And_ even if his plan is suicidal, I see nothing else that we could do at this point."

I smiled when she admitted it, those words like fine wine to my ears.

"I knew you would see reason," I said with a thin smirk.

She returned the smile

"_But_ I haven't seen the light of day for _three days_. Even more if you count Brejik's imprisonment. Maybe if I happened to come along..."

Finally, Carth seemed interested in the conversation.

"No. It's too dangerous. I don't know how many times-"

"How am I supposed to help if I'm stuck up here cooking and staring at the wall?"

My eyes narrowed in humor, glancing between the two leaders and sitting back.

"May I point out that your cooking has helped our stomachs?" I tried to helpfully mention, even though her reheated dinners completely sucked. I wouldn't mention that small detail however...I liked my life after all.

Instead Bastila ignored my empty compliment and gave Onasi a red angered look. So much for washing the Jedi's apparent feelings of worthlessness away. I guess she just figured I was lying or something...

"If you two are going to be invading a base then some of those Sith are bound to be strong in the Force. What are you going to do then?"

Well, that goes without saying. _I'll_ use the Force against them. If I'm such a Force sensitive beast then surely I would be able to use my own mind to grab those yellowed-eyed fiends' weapons out of their very grasp.

Carth glanced briefly towards me and I assumed that my face had an expression of courageous glamour and confidence. He looked back towards Bastila when he noticed that I was smiling at him.

"We'll run away," was all he said in response.

_Wow_, I didn't really know what to say with that _strong _supporting answer. He should win a medal for Jedi tact and persuasion! I _surely _would be convinced by that statement!

Bastila gave the pilot a hooded look, a similar expression that a gave her just a minute ago.

"Well, as your higher officer I am _ordering _that I come along."

Again, what a great way to pull rank. If only I wasn't a simple recruit in the Republic army, I would have ordered myself off of the Endar Spire the moment they shoved me on there.

Life would be so much easier if lower ranked people just listened to their betters like mindless droids. At least...that is what I assumed Bastila wanted Carth to do.

I saw the pilot giving me a look again and I raised my eyebrows. Did he want me to convince the Jedi to not come with us? I wasn't in the mood to fight with her after last night. The wrong sorts of subjects would be brought up around the orange jacketed soldier that I really didn't want to mess with right now.

I sighed when that look stuck onto me, even after I made sure my dark eyes never wavered away.

"Look, Bastila, _sunshine_. If you want to help then use your Battle Meditation on the Sith or something. Surely that wouldn't be so hard-"

"You forget that Malak is able to sense the Force as well. His focus will be on the bases and if he senses my influence then this whole plan would have been for nothing."

She really liked to make things difficult. It didn't help that I knew nothing about the abilities of the Force. I shook my head, giving the Jedi a smirk.

"Then why do you want to come with us if your very presence is going to ruin things?"

Bastila appeared impatient, like I was a child who kept on asking why ships can jump to lightspeed.

"_Because _it is not me that he senses directly. It is the Battle Meditation."

"If that's the case then why can't you just distract Malak with your powers or something? You were able to influence entire battles without them knowing for a while right?" I asked with a wave of my hand.

She huffed in frustration, her face turning red. "It. Isn't. That. Easy. Just - you are just wasting our time with these pointless questions. If we don't go through with Canderous' plans then we will have no hope of getting off of Taris."

Funny, just a second ago she could barely trust the mandalorian but when faced with her own pride she decided to go with it. I would have to remember that for future confrontations with her.

Carth was looking away as we fought and hovered beside the small table. His silence was rather creepy and when I glanced towards him as I talked with the Jedi his eyes never met mine. He was still angry about me being a smuggler or something. Despite his misgivings, I had grown to sort of liking to the pilot. He was the only other grown male in the group after all - I think I would have gone insane otherwise.

Bastila noticed me giving the pilot an eye but she paid no vocal heed to the strange break in the conversation.

I sighed shaking my head. "Fine - you can come if you want though...I wonder how the famous indestructible Battle Meditator like you was captured by the Vulkars in the first place," I said with a wide smile.

Her face grew even redder and she glanced towards her belt as if something important would normally be there.

"M-My Force powers were exhausted while using Battle Meditation on the Endar Spire. Without my help then you wouldn't have gotten off alive."

Ah, I see, she wanted me to feel guilty and appreciative of her help. She still thinks that she saved me?

I raised my eyebrows. "But surely those thugs wouldn't have stood a chance with your lightsaber, am I right?"

She grew a tomato red and her grey eyes were like storm clouds in strong winds.

"I lost it after the crash. How was I supposed to defend myself?"

I struggled to suppress a large laugh. "Wait...you _lost_ your lightsaber?" I couldn't hold back the laughs now. "Out of all the Jedi in the galaxy, why do we get one who's absent-minded?"

I swear that she was going to use those Force powers on me at any second. I could even see her ears turning red.

"This is no laughing matter!" she protested. "I-"

"Well, without your lightsaber I see no point in you coming along with just your Force powers unless you want to be seen carrying a cortosis double blade around the Uppercity like a terrorist."

She glanced around as if she could find the answers in the ceiling.

"B-Brejik...must have taken it from me. I have no idea where it is now."

My smile was still on my face when I sat forward, resting my elbows on my knees.

"Taken. _Sure_."

Her grey eyes glanced towards me with accusation.

"Where is it?" she asked lowly.

I raised my eyebrows.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I said lightly, feigning confusion.

The Jedi's face grew dark.

"My. _Lightsaber_."

I smiled.

"Brejik had it, didn't he?"

Her mouth flapped up and down when I finally caught her in that little white lie. Of course, she wasn't the sort of person to admit her mistakes. My smile grew wider as I saw her tussle with her own inner pride.

"And now _you_ have it," she said, crossing her arms.

I shook my head glancing towards Carth who's blank face was giving me a dark knowing look. I tried to ignore him by glancing towards Mission who was still focused on her project, the small boy bending over beside her now with pure interest. The wookie was slumped against the wall beside our bags, tired.

I smiled, rubbing my chin.

"Now, I wonder...why would I have it if Brejik supposedly took it from you?"

She huffed louder this time, extending her hand.

"Enough games. Give me back my lightsaber."

Mission stood up as I shook my head, chuckling slightly.

"So rude...I thought Jedi were taught manners. At the very least say please-"

"Please give me back my lightsaber," she said, with a serious look on her face. I couldn't help but crack a small smile at her then glanced towards Carth who didn't look amused. In fact, he looked close to rage.

I shrugged. "Sorry, but why should I give you another reason to come along? Orangy over there already hates my guts," I said.

Bastila glanced towards Carth and he looked away when I mentioned him. Yep, he was still ashamed about what happened in the cantina. I really didn't know why, it was no big deal.

Bastila sighed then stood up. My eyes followed her wearily until I noticed that she was going through our bags. Crap, I forgot to put the lightsaber in a good hiding place before this conversation happened. I should have thought about this ahead of time.

And yet, I saw the handle reflecting in the low light. I took my chance and dove for my bag while Bastila went through Carth's, catching the long handle deftly. The Jedi noticed me right after but before she could do anything, Mission began to laugh like a mad woman.

"Time for your soak, Big Z!" she shouted in triumph.

The wookie roared in shock, covering his face from the spray of water. The twi'lek held the ancient hose up like a blaster and the little slave was smiling widely at the spectacle.

Unfortunately, I happened to be in the firing range and was quite shocked when cold water hit my face. I dropped the lightsaber as I flinched, mimicking the wookie, shouting.

"Mission!"

Bastila scooped up her lightsaber quickly and when the twi'lek shut the hose off - finally noticing that she was hitting me as well - I saw that victory smile on the Jedi's face.

"Oh jeez...I'm sorry Wessy!"

My hair and upper body soaked, I gave myself a mental slap and frowned. Mission didn't noticed my dark glare as she attacked the wookie with a sponge, sweet smelling soap dripping all over the carpet. Believe me though...he smelled nothing close to sweet.

The Jedi grabbed her cloak and gave both Carth and I a look. I glanced towards the pilot and he shook his head, huffing.

That wasn't my fault. I swear.

**W**

For some reason, Mission insisted on coming along. Carth had argued that climbing around in a Sith base was too dangerous for a kid but apparently he hadn't learned his lesson.

"I. Am not. A kid," she responded, stomping her foot closer to the pilot with every phrase. Onasi was not amused and glanced towards me as if I could solve all of his problems. I was not a babysitter nor a fatherly figure. Why did these people assume that I could convince and take care of these kids?

However, I still took Mission's side.

"Come on, old geezer. She can sneak around better than you," I said, reminding him of the rakghoul incident. He didn't argue any further after that. He was still fucking mad. This guy...

The blue twi'lek gave me a wide smile and marched forward after Bastila who was already far down the hall. The wookie and the little boy were giving me looks and Zaalbar didn't really look healthy enough to go walking around. In fact, I was afraid for the twi'leks safety if he came along. So, I glanced towards the kitchen and shrugged.

"Hey, Big Z...can you watch the little guy while we're gone?" I asked. I pointed towards the dirty sink. "You can help yourself."

His whole face brightened up as he stood, the little boy not as unhappy as I first thought he would be for being left behind. I really hope they didn't get themselves into trouble.

I nodded to Carth and went after Mission who already caught up to Bastila.

Canderous pointed me towards Janice Nall's droid shop in the run down section of town. Not many Uppercity folk wanted to work with an alien and after the Sith came for a visit I was surprised that the twi'lek was still in business.

There was really only one reason why she still was. The Exchange owed her a debt.

Fortunately, the shop was opened late and we were able to catch her before she closed for the day. She appeared surprised when we walked past the astromech C8s and protocol C6s.

"W-Welcome to Janice Nall's droid and repair shop!" she exclaimed, struggling to get up from putting a box away. Mission and Carth were lagging behind, investigating a strange beheaded tourist information droid that was on a loop. Bastila wanted to talk to the owner herself at first before I persuaded her that I knew my way around the business. I could tell that the seller was a bit put off the angered Jedi.

"Um...what can I get you? I was about to close up shop so if you're just browsing-"

I strode up to the counter and looked deeply into the alien's eyes.

"Canderous Ordo sent me to pick up a droid. An astromech."

A mixture of recognition and terror dawned on her face. "Canderous? Well then, why didn't you say so?" She looked behind her and I knew where the droid was now. "I've been holding this little guy for weeks. Davik Kang apparently wanted him to...well let's be honest here, commit crimes. I thought he totally forgot the order."

"Well, he wants the droid now," I said.

I didn't want the twi'lek to be asking the crime lord dangerous questions. Bastila crossed her arms as she peered past the girl and into the back of the shop. Janice smiled at me and whistled, the manual door banging open, revealing a T3 model beeping happily towards me.

"I'm sure he does. That will be 2,000 credits, as promised," she said with a hand extended.

I swear that I lost the ability to see for a brief second.

"_2,000 credits_?"

I couldn't believe my own bad luck. First I made Carth and Mission promise me to pay me 1,000 credits each for doing such a suicidal stunt and now I was being forced to hand over 2,000 credits? Was fate mocking me? Did I mean _nothing _to the circle of what may be?

And why was _I_ paying for something that Canderous or the Exchange should have? All of it just didn't seem fair...

I swallowed, shaking my head "I-I can't afford that," I muttered.

Janice looked genuinely surprised. "Wait...what? I thought the Exchange had millions of credits...2,000 wouldn't be much. I thought I was giving you guys a discount."

_Are you fucking kidding me?_

I pursed my lips and before my rage could go flying at this innocent store owner, a firm hand grasped my shoulder. I glanced past my shoulder and Bastila's ancient eyes hit me, instead of anger and embarrassment there was concern. What was wrong? Was it something I said? Or was going to say?

I sighed, realizing that the Jedi wanted me to be diplomatic. Well, guess what, _Jedi_? I hated diplomats and politics. I wasn't going to settle with nothing. This was life and death here and we couldn't just mess around.

Janice Nall was looking towards me expectedly. And then I realized. Canderous didn't want me to pay a credit on this droid. He was expecting me to steal from this poor lady. He really thought I was that low? What type of person would do that?

Oh, right. A smuggler would.

I sighed again, rubbing my face. "Look...I don't have the credits now...but could I put it on a credit? I swear that I'll pay you back..." o_nce I talked to a certain mandalorian._

But the twi'lek wasn't having it.

"I'm sorry but the last time I promised someone credit they either died or went completely broke. You seem like the type that is the latter _and _the former."

Are you kidding me? I try to be diplomatic and I still get nowhere. This Jedi was completely wrong, there was no way I could do this without threatening her. My face seemed to grow cold and and slapped the counter forcefully, the twi'lek suddenly jumping.

"If you don't-"

"I'll pay."

I looked up and Bastila shoved me aside like I was nothing. My angered face calmed down almost instantly as I gave the Jedi a confused look. What was she doing? She wasn't actually going to use her own credits on this? Actually...we were here because of her so shouldn't she be paying anyway?

And...why didn't she say something _before_ I almost went ballistic on this lady? She really had to work on her timing.

Nall looked overjoyed and grabbed Bastila's datapad quickly in order to make the transaction.

"I knew you were pulling my leg there," she said, humming a quiet song right after as she put in the numbers. "This little guy is worth more than those 2,000 credits you spent on him. Believe me."

And so we bought T3-M4 the astro droid.

He rolled over towards us happily and began to sing. This droid was...rather positive about his robotic life, wasn't he? Mission and Carth gave the droid a stare and Bastila patted the chassis once. T3 followed the Jedi out and I was last to leave, glancing towards Janice worriedly. She paid me no mind however as she went back to work with her boxes, calling over a protocol droid to help her.

Was she going to scam us? I doubted it, she seemed rather afraid of Davik Kang and didn't seem the type to swindle a powerful crime lord.

When I stepped out into the night, the only person I saw was Bastila and the droid. Mission and Carth were scouting ahead apparently, as ordered by Bastila, to look for the old Republic base. The Jedi was sitting on a bench, staring off into the night while holding a comm link.

Since she didn't seem to be noticing me, I waved a hand in front of her face.

"Hello, Taris to Bastila," I said. She jumped and glared at me, crossing her arms in a familiar fashion.

"_What_?" she sneered.

"Wow, calm down much?" I shook my head and stepped away from her. "What is your plan anyway? Why send off those two? Let's just storm the place," I said.

The Jedi rolled her eyes. "I do not want the others to be caught with me. It's that simple."

Well wasn't she nice? She had a heart in that tin casing of a Jedi body after all. I was beginning to wonder if she cared about us in the first place. She seemed so concerned with herself, even more than I was and I's the smuggler, not her.

However, there was one thing...

"Then why am I still here?" I asked, sitting beside her on the bench. "You really want to bring me down with you, huh? I'm so glad you think so highly of me."

"It's not that..." she looked away. "I wanted to talk."

Great, another Jedi pep talk. I sighed, sitting forward while looking away from her face.

"About what?" I asked. "And please don't confess your deepest feelings. I am not a sap."

Bastila, for once, didn't appear impatient. "It is about Carth...and the droid shop. I could sense that you were disturbed in there...and whenever you look at the soldier."

I paused, my breathing slow. I glared at her with full force.

"You do know that I like my privacy? Stop snooping around in my mind, creep," I said mockingly.

She completely ignored my playful voice. "I am not snooping willingly. I have already said that you might be Force sensitive. That possibility might have some drawbacks including susceptibility to the dark side of the Force. What ever happened between you and Carth...I want to know about it."

Was she serious? I was not planning on becoming a Jedi myself, what did she expect? I have heard stories of older people who hadn't been imprisoned by the Jedi were called Force sensitive. I can't use the Force myself and I didn't _want_ to use the Force myself. I was my own man, as I've already stated.

I sat back, looking in the direction where the Sith fleet would be.

"Why are you so interested?" I asked. "You shouldn't care. You're a Jedi."

The Jedi looked at me briefly only to stare in the same direction I once was.

"I...suppose you are right. I'm... sorry for prying."

She stood up and talked lowly into the comm, Carth's voice low in the channel while I pondered our brief conversation. Maybe she was right, maybe I was being too reckless. Of course, I wouldn't normally admit that but circumstances have led me to believe that I needed to change. Too many times.

But I will never change since I was marked by what I had been before. I was marked and those scars would never go away no matter who or what tried to heal them.

I stood up and began to follow the Jedi, T3 beeping his first depressing note.

* * *

**Next time, the base and Davik Kang. Sorry for the long delay, college does that...along with two five page papers and tests (ew...) Thank you to those who have followed, favorited, and reviewed so far!**


	10. Davik's Palace

**Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic**

* * *

**Strong Winds**

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

My father once told me to only start trouble if there was a logical reason to. I may not have credited my father of doing much in my early life but I looked up to him just like anyone else would. What was I supposed to believe as a young child?

So, the only logical reason why I would break into a Sith base...?

Yeah there was _no_ logical reason to be breaking into a Sith base. Sorry old man, I failed to heed your advice.

I raised my blaster pistol as I watched a group of Sith working merrily like nothing was wrong. Little did they know that an ambush was awaiting them. Bastila had given me a comm link foraged in some second hand shop. Ancient tech but hidden from the Sith's radar.

The Jedi was on the opposite side of the door, gazing intently at the lazy Sith soldiers. Carth, Mission, and T3-M4 were back in the other room hacking into the Sith's databases and looking for the codes we needed to get off the planet. Without them we would be blasted like the Endar Spire's space debris inside the thick Taris atmosphere.

Hey, maybe there was a point to this suicide mission after all.

Fortunately, these Sith were as dumb as rocks.

We were on comm silence now, a click from the other side meant that they had succeeded hacking into the systems. The high tech astro droid was supposed to be just that "high tech" but we had been waiting here for five minutes doing piss nothing. I was starting to doubt Janice Nall again.

Then, after a decade, a click.

I glanced towards Bastila and she nodded. "On my mark," she mouthed.

I rolled my eyes as I spotted the Sith who were still unaware of what was about to happen. I must have counted at least a dozen of these bags of meat and only a few of them looked really equipped for battle.

The Jedi held her double bladed lightsaber staff out and gave me one look before she dove in quickly after a few explosions echoed into five of the Sith. How she was able to tell that was about to happen, I would never know. What I _wanted_ to know was why she didn't time herself for the more important events like say...a swoop race maybe? She needed to get her priorities straight.

I shot out at the first Sith that noticed our attack and missed the bastard. My second shot hit him and yet it was too late, he had already screamed out an alert through the clouds of smoke.

The hissing of Bastila's double lightsaber caused me to jump slightly and briefly paused my offensive as she brought her saber down onto a dark masked soldier. They never even stood a chance and with the element of surprise they never even had a chance to begin with. No wonder why some say that one Jedi is all the army anyone would ever need.

However, despite her apparent infallibility an ignored grenade would still deal a lot of damage. To anyone really. I mean, she was made of flesh and bone right?

I quickly escaped my daze and shot at the Sith grenadier, cursing when I saw the armor ripple. He was using damn shields. Why would anyone use grenades in their own base anyway? Ignoring the half-witted Sith, I shot a few more blasts in order to get his attention but he was too focused on getting rid of the bigger threat, the Jedi.

"Bastila!" I shouted over the chaos.

The Talravin looked at me for a split second before returning to the battle. She wasn't giving me any attention and neither was she going to spot the grenade that was lobed towards her. She really was absent-minded, wasn't she?

I ran towards her like an insane man, turning my shield on while shooting down the grenadier Sith. I thought there had been only a dozen soldiers but there were more apparently.

Bastila didn't expect me as I tackled her, ducking behind a console and jumping when the explosion wrecked havoc amongst the remaining Sith. The shield and console did very little to screen us from the blast and we were both thrown into the opposite wall like rag dolls. The last of my pathetic shield broke down and shattered into nothing.

I think I felt something crack and worried that the explosion had broken my spine or something vital. The shield had screened both of us from the fire though the force of the impact hadn't been. I groaned as I sat up, glancing towards Bastila who looked just as harried. And she was glaring at me.

I smiled. "I guess this means I really saved you now."

She huffed as she stood up slowly, then half ran towards the remaining console. She spoke into the comm and informed Carth and Mission of our success here and began to loot the Sith of any important keycards or identification.

Fine, she didn't have to say I was right. At least I left this fight with the knowledge that she was a damsel in distress and not an emotionless indestructible droid.

Surprisingly, T3-M4 was the first to come rolling in, beeping with pride. I raised an eyebrow and gave the Jedi a look that she didn't return.

She flicked the comm button again. "Carth, why did you just send T3?" she asked.

A long sigh was his response. "The ki-_Mission_ thinks that the droid could open the elevators to higher floors if they linked the computers together or whatever..." A pause. "Look, I don't know what you're talking about, Mission. Anyway..." He sighed again. "The codes the mandalorian wants are inaccessible through these computers. The main one in the governor's office seems to be completely private."

These paranoid Sith. I rubbed my face, tempted to rip the comm link out of Bastila's hands and give the pilot a piece of my mind.

Fortunately, the Jedi did it for me.

"Look, we don't have time Carth. Is there an easier way to get the codes without risking ourselves further?"

A click. "Without giving this governor a visit? I'm afraid not."

T3-M4 beeped uncertainly, heading towards the computer and extracting its plug. These astromechs always seemed to want to do things their way and at their time despite the apparent danger. I glared at the droid then glanced towards the annoyed Jedi who finally returned my own gaze.

"Guess we have no choice but to go up," I muttered, pressing the acceptance symbol on the flickering screen as T3 finished his modifications. The elevator on the far side of the room opened and I was the first to enter. Might as well get this over with.

I held the door open for T3-M4 who beeped happily at me and Bastila whose hands were growing white from holding her lightsaber too tightly. I raised my eyebrows. She was actually afraid? I have seen angry and maybe even melancholy but never afraid. I thought this crazy woman had been fearless.

When the elevator door closed she noticed my confusion and sighed giving T3 a look.

"I can sense that something dark is close by. I don't think this governor is normal."

Now that she says it...a cold wave was rippling above us like a storm. I held onto my blaster just as tightly and glanced nervously towards the Jedi.

"Are you saying...?"

"Just stay back and don't get in the way."

Wow, thanks a lot. Since she felt like a damsel for a brief battle she had to insist that I take up the role now. She was so easy to read.

I knew my own limitations...maybe. I mean...the Sith on the Endar Spire hadn't been a pleasant fellow.

I narrowed my eyes and was resolved to fight back whatever was past the door. Bastila was the first to take a step past the threshold and lit her lightsaber almost immediately. Another door was before us and I was briefly reminded of Trask's sacrifice on the Endar Spire. A dark force clouded my senses like a fog and I found it rather hard to breath correctly when close to such a power. I didn't even notice that my hands were shaking when I gave Bastila a look. Could we just...turn around now? The codes weren't that important...right?

But the Jedi was determined despite the odds.

T3-M4 opened the locked door and we were met with a cross-legged bald man sitting in the middle of a spacious room. I almost jumped when his yellow eyes opened.

"Who dares to break my meditation?" his voice rumbled.

Bastila held her lightsaber up and I pondered as to whether or not I should even threaten this man with my worthless pistol. Should I even pick a fight that was illogical to get into to begin with?

The man stood up and grabbed his own lightsaber, grinning widely.

"Bastila Shan..."

I looked quickly towards the Jedi as she flinched when the Sith called her by name. "I wasn't expecting you to give yourself up so easily."

The brown haired Jedi appeared pissed off and raised her double bladed saber into a weird stance. I would have to ask her where she got such a strange fighting style from later. Apparently all the fear melted away from her face after we stepped through the door. I knew it, she was crazy after all.

Bastila huffed. "I am not here to give myself up. I'm here for the codes."

Yeah...along with me. I'm still here you know...

The Sith laughed, glancing towards a large computer. These people...just stop giving away the location of important items with your eyes. How hard is it not to look directly at what you are hiding?

I flinched when the Dark Jedi unleashed his red lightsaber. Well, I was fucked, wasn't I? If Bastila went down then I would go down along with her. She really hated me, didn't she? Instead of just ordering me to stay behind I had to come along with her. Why didn't she bring Carth along instead? I guess...I would never know...

For a split second, the Sith's eyes met mine and I felt as if I was frozen on the spot. My skin felt like little kinrath spiders were crawling all over my skin. That look was not pleasant at all...I _really_ hated that look. Please...just stop looking at me...

His thin lips formed a smile. "Amazing...who would have thought another Force Adapt could be found on this insignificant planet? I thought all the other Jedi-"

Then Bastila went on the attack, using the Force to push at the Sith. I raised my blaster up then down again in puzzlement. They were moving way too fast and I would have no guarantee that I wouldn't shoot the Jedi accidentally. Bastila was weaving in and out like a grandmother's fast knitting and the Sith only seemed to be taunting her with laughs and flicks of his red saber.

"Your 'talent' is no match for the power of the dark side!" he shouted.

Oh, just _shut up_.

I decided that instead of listening to Bastila's advice of staying back and not getting in the way to head towards the computer that most likely had the codes to get us off of this backwater planet. I mean, if Bastila seemed overmatched then at the very least we could have the option to run away later.

The sparks I heard behind me didn't matter as I slapped the damn machine over and over again as it turned on. Why were these computers so damn slow? What type of Republic base was this? These incompetent-

I was shoved aside like a rag doll again and wounds I didn't even know I had pained my chest. Bastila was half glaring at me as the Sith plunged his saber into the wall, exactly where I just was a moment ago. My face went white.

"You idiot!" she shouted, going for the Sith with her double bladed yellow lightsaber."I told you to stay back!"

The Sith was grinning and went to attack me _again_. I think he saw the obvious weakness in our team..._me_.

The astromech driod was screeching in alarm and rolling back in forth in a panic. At least T3 was smart enough to stay back...I sure didn't want to be tripping over an astro during a fight.

I narrowed my eyes as I realized that I was a gigantic burden right now and flinched when the two blades collided a foot above me. I could feel the heat and the sparks above my head like twin suns. Through the glare, the Sith's yellow eyes met mine again.

Then, without warning, he extinguished his saber and jumped back. Ironically, the other side of Bastila's saber was heading towards me and I think I lost a few hairs when she pulled back. I gave her a look.

"Watch it!" I shouted at her.

She rolled her eyes but in doing so her attention on the Sith had been distracted and couldn't defend against the invisible push of the dark side. I was shocked when she was flung onto the wall beside the computer console and flinched at how painful that looked. The Jedi was incapable of getting up and her lightsaber fell into the hands of the Sith so I raised my blaster pistol in fear.

My heart stopped and I knew my hand was shaking when the Sith turned to me. This bastard...this good for nothing _kriffing _bastard!

He was smiling again. I just hated those smiles now. "Yes...I can feel your fear. Feed your hatred and anger within yourself. Call upon the power of the dark side." My pistol was thrown out of my hand like it was nothing and I was left weaponless. "But even that cannot save you now."

What was I going to do? There was...no hope that I could get out of this alive! I glanced towards Bastila and she was only now attempting to get up. Force damn...get up faster! What was wrong with her?

As if to mock me he lit the Jedi's lightsaber and looked at it playfully. "Funny, you seem..._powerful_. It's too bad that you were not a Sith yourself. I might have actually enjoyed this."

He swiped at me with the double bladed saber and I stepped back supernaturally quickly and widen my eyes when he attacked me with his own red saber. This guy was really going to use both? I don't really think that was such a good idea...especially since-

And how was I still dodging these attacks? I should be dead by now...

"You cannot run away forever!" he shouted as I moved my head slightly to avoid a vertical slash. Fortunately, he had to use each saber one at a time or else he would chop his own arm off. He obviously had no idea how to use a double bladed lightsaber.

He swiped the saber low and I was able to jump over it like a rope. How was I going so fast and avoiding these lightsabers so easily?

Oh. _Right_. Force Sensitive. Got it.

Despite avoiding his attacks like I was a fly being swat at, I was growing really tired. I doubted that I could keep this up for long. Bastila was on her knees last I checked when I ducked and crawled away after the lightsaber became stuck in the wall again. I wondered why he didn't just use the Force on me. Maybe he was tired too?

Unfortunately, my dodging streak ended and his red lightsaber descended a bit too quickly due to his anger, disposing of Bastila's saber in the wall. I was too annoying apparently and there was no way I was going to dodge _that_.

I placed my hand up to my face and prayed to whatever universal force was out there. Here I come hell.

There was heat near the palm of my hand but no burning. I opened my eyes to find the Sith shocked and pushing forward as if he was struggling against a brickwall. His yellow eyes were shocked and his saber was shaking.

He didn't even shout when he was thrown across the room in a similar fashion that Bastila had before. I got up quickly, spotting Bastila as she took her saber staff again with a pained smile.

And I think she enjoyed gutting him.

**W**

Davik's palace was a skyscraper. Usually meant for over thousands of people, the crime lord could afford to be lavish and pigheaded. When the mando pointed out the "mansion" I mentally rolled my eyes and sat back in my seat. The place that Canderous flew us to reminded me of Senator landing pads from Coruscant. Not that I've _ever _been on one before.

Carth sat beside me looking miserable and Bastila sat beside him gazing out into the small traffic of this planet. This plan the mandalorian had was crazy yet we had no other choice but to trust him. Hey, maybe Onasi will learn something from this.

T3-M4 was the only one enjoying the ride, beeping disappointingly when Ordo stopped the engine. The sun was reflecting its rays off the smooth glass of Kang's "palace" as the early morning annoyed the workman and rose a finger up to the hungover. In any other situation our group would have looked annoyed and hungover.

Mission didn't come with us since she was exhausted after spending a whole night hacking Sith computers like she was a keyboard herself. She spent a good few minutes yelling at Carth for making her look like a little kid or something but by the time we made it to the apartment she collapsed like a sack of spices onto her bed. The little kid was asleep in the other bed and the wookie was reclining on the couch, giving us a look.

The mandalorian opened the door of the speeder and began to walk towards the entrance, ignoring the people that he brought along. I heard Bastila huff something inaudibly and Carth had a forever shadow hanging over his face. Why was everyone so low? Why didn't everyone have T3's energy?

When I took a step onto the metal I suddenly realized why. We were all tired and in mental pain from what we had been through so far. That fight with the Sith required both me and Bastila to have a small dose of kolto that ate up the Jedi's reserves of money entirely. We were broke and tired following a bloodthirsty mandalorian into a slave and con dealing criminal. We really were desperate.

Soon, once we take the Ebon Hawk and fly away into space, I will be free once again. That was the only motivation that led me along with Canderous Ordo.

"You have to wait a bit before Davik is awake. He doesn't like being disturbed."

Though when he said that he didn't sound like he gave a damn if we walked into his room and disturbed him at all.

With that, we were left in the foyer, monster heads with their descriptions hanging along the walls. I gave them a narrowed look glancing towards Carth with a pointed thumb at a beheaded rakghoul. Of course...he didn't look back at me so I rolled my eyes and decided to sit down next to him. T3 chirped once before shutting his red light off, standing near the Jedi. Bastila was sitting further away with closed eyes...doing some Jedi thing or other so hopefully she wouldn't overhear us.

Carth gave me an intruded glare.

"What do you want?" he asked with a hostile tone.

I sat back, looking towards him with a serious eye.

"We didn't finish our conversation last time," I said with a small smile.

He visibly bristled and turned his body away from me, his hand clenching his thigh tightly. The pilot forced out a sigh then sat forward, holding his head.

"Look, I'm too tired to be fighting with you right now. Just forget it alright?"

I peered closer at him but he still stared hard into the ground. He really was trying to avoid me...

I smiled widely. "I'm always up for a good fight."

He sat up finally and gave me a hard stare, not one of those wavering ones he liked to give me ever since yesterday afternoon.

"You know my reasons for not trusting anyone. Especially you." He glanced away from me. "You know, I'm not all that surprised that you were a smuggler. Explains a lot."

I narrowed my eyes, lifting an eyebrow.

"Really? Explains what?"

I was innocently curious. Nothing more.

Carth, finally after living in Hoth's tundra for years, unfroze that frown of his and smiled slightly towards me.

"Well, you're rather tenacious for one and I had some doubts about your moral standing for another. At least...before you found that kid and raced to save Bastila. Which only makes me confused. What side are you on?"

"What _side_?"

I burst out laughing and T3 jumped on again while Bastila opened her eyes to glare at me. I guess I disturbed her doing something or other but otherwise I didn't care. She closed her eyes once again but not before rolling them at me.

I snorted again. "Are you serious? Do you think everyone in the freaking galaxy is as invested in this war as you are? I'm not _on _a side. In fact, I want to get as far away from the Republic and the Sith as soon as I get off of this planet."

The pilot appeared surprised but I wasn't sure why. He wasn't surprised by me being a smuggler so why did he look so surprised now? He wanted the truth, right? This paranoid bastard wanted all the facts up front so I was giving him that harsh reality. I wasn't going to dance around the fires with him anymore.

He shook his head. "Alright. Fine. I will concede with you on that point if you want. But...it's more then a bit odd that you - a _smuggler_ - was added to the roster last minute for some unknown reason and also happened to survive the crash."

I smirked. "You'd rather I didn't? You could have left me to burn if you wanted to you know..."

He flinched when I mentioned that little fact but continued on anyway. It seems as if his paranoia doesn't come without a soldier's conscious.

"Don't be ridicules, you've more then proved yourself after rescuing Bastila and we wouldn't even be here if you didn't storm off like a child. But..."

Commend me, but don't go throwing insults in there as well.

I bristled. "But what? You think _I _had something to do with this?"

He sighed, appearing as if he didn't know what he wanted to say.

"Well...maybe. Look, I don't know. It's just-the Jedi specifically ordered your transfer onto the Endar Spire. Why would the Jedi even care about a Republic criminal like you?"

I think I was supposed to be offended. Other then that...it was rather strange that the Jedi and not the Republic brought me onto the ship for no other reason except that I spoke many languages. So far, I've only had to understand shyrwook, twi'leki, rodian, and huttese. Not many of those were rare languages that any other scout or Jedi could understand.

My face grew slightly worried as I glanced towards Bastila who was still sitting peacefully ignorant to our conversation. What was she hiding? And about this supposed "mission"... why was the Endar Spire stolen by the Jedi in the first place? What was the point?

Force damn, Carth is rubbing off on me.

I glared back at him. "It doesn't even matter right now. Go ahead and be paranoid."

He was growing red again. "Of course it matters. It always matters. And I'm not being paranoid. You being here seems to be just one big coincidence. But, since I don't believe in coincidences, there was another reason why you were placed on the Endar Spire. I just know it, especially when the Jedi are-"

Bastila opened her eyes finally and stood up from her seat, heading towards us.

Here we go...

"We have to hurry...I can sense-"

However, before she could even continue, the door opened, a grey haired and purple armored man stepping past the threshold.

"Well, well, well. The rider who won the big swoop race. Canderous has been talking so much about you. Very impressive...especially the battle afterward."

I smiled glancing towards Bastila who looked...afraid? What was wrong now? T3-M4 beeped awake and came to Bastila's side, Davik unaware of the droid's existence. Hopefully he wouldn't be able to tell that the astro was the same droid he ordered a month ago.

Both Carth and I flinched when a familiar figure stepped forward. Calo Nord, that psychopathic bounty hunter. Since I couldn't see his eyes, I had no idea what sort of look he was giving us in return. I'm pretty sure he recognized Carth but since I had been wearing Sith armor then...

He sniffed once before glancing towards Canderous.

"I didn't know you went soft, Canderous. I thought you didn't want partners. Didn't you say you could take the Vulkar's base all on your own? What happened to that mission?"

Canderous sneered. "Shut your mouth Calo."

"Enough, enough. Please, no fighting. I don't want my two best men killing each other." Davik glanced around before giving the Carth and Bastila a look. "So, he is your bodyguard I see. And is this your prize? Why don't you have her chained up?"

The Jedi flinched before glaring at the crime lord.

"I am-!"

Before she said anything stupid, I covered her mouth quickly, smiling.

"Heh, heh...she's actually really compliant around me. I must have that charm you know... Women just can't resist me."

I saw the Jedi rolling her eyes as the crime lord nodded his head, smiling. I flinched when I felt slobber all over my hand. What was she, a drooling hutt?

"Yes, I understand. Too many of my more..._intimate _slaves don't need the motivation of restraining collars to do their work. If you know what I mean."

I smiled crookedly towards Bastila and her eyes were completely mortified. When Davik left I released her mouth, wiping my hand on my pants, my cheeks hurting from the wide smile I was giving her.

"You hear that?" I said.

She walked past me, out of character as an "intimate slave" under my orders. Her face was serious once again while Carth was giving me a humored blank stare. Meanwhile, Canderous sneaked me a raised look.

"I guess not..." I muttered my own reply.

The crime lord led us into the "throne room" of his palace. Davik was the only one who really talked and I wouldn't be surprised if he liked the sound of his own voice. With grand waves of his hand, he mentioned how great working with the Exchange was and since I kind of already worked for them before I knew most of what he mentioned was utter bullshit. I mean...fairly treated staff and large payments? If that was true I would be living in Aldaraan feasting on pigs while being waited on by sexy twi'leks, not stuck on Taris with an annoying chastised Jedi and a paranoid widowed soldier.

I walked past Bastila in order for her to continue her appearance as a slave to me. So far, she seemed to not like the idea of being treated like a prize. She really would have sucked as a smuggler. At least attempt to not look like you have something stuck up your ass.

My look in her direction didn't seem to send off the same message and she huffed as I passed her, crossing her arms. Spoiled brat.

"And here are your quarters. Until your background check is complete you can't leave this hall under pain of death. Of course, there are a few slaves at the end of the hall to attend to your...needs until then. What do you say? You like what you see?"

I couldn't say no. I would have had to been stupid to say no. When the crime lord left, the bounty hunter gave me a lingering look. I cocked an eyebrow waving him goodbye. What was that look all about? Something wrong with my hair?

I opened the door to the room and Canderous was still here for some reason. Maybe he was watching us or something? I don't know how he was able to still stay here without looking suspicious. T3, who was following us quietly the whole time, rolled past me and into the room, making himself at home.

"We're in. Finally. Davik talks for too long."

Bastila looked pissed. She was still upset about the slave thing? Did she want us to be caught or something? Fortunately, she calmed down when she sat on the tan couch, looking out the window into the sunrise. Instead she looked afraid again as if something big was about to happen.

"We don't have much time..." she muttered. I wondered what she was looking at before I saw the Sith fleet. They were still horrifying to look at but...something was different. They were moving. I haven't seen them move since we were shot down here on the planet a week ago.

I scrunched my eyebrows as I peered out and glanced behind me towards the pilot. Carth's eyes widened and he was shaking his head in disbelief.

"No...that formation is too familiar. Just like Telos..."

_Shit_. They were going to bomb Taris? _Why? _There were some Sith still on the ground! And all these people...why would-?

My eyes blanked as I stepped away from the window, rubbing my forehead as another headache cropped up. Bastila couldn't believe it herself and stood, giving Canderous a look.

"We need to go. _Now_."

The mando held up his hands.

"Now, now. We can't rush this. We have to wait until lunch break before we can strike. The less amount of people we run into, the better chance we have of getting the Hawk."

"Do you think this is a game?" the Jedi retorted, stepping closer to the mandalorian. "We have less then a few hours to leave this planet."

"If we rush in there then all we're going to do is alert Davik that we're trying to steal his ship. Once he finds out well...we will have no chance of escaping _ever_."

I raised my hands, trying to placate them. "Okay okay...so what do we do in the mean time?"

Canderous smiled and even I knew what that smile meant.

**W**

I have been waiting too long for this moment.

Gone were my tense muscles and lingering fatigue. Gone were the aches that I acquired in my upper back and lower ribs. Gone was the stress of having a Jedi breathing down my neck.

Well...almost.

"What are you doing?" I heard a voice above me like my inner conscious that wouldn't go away.

The twi'lek slave stopped rubbing my shoulders and I frowned with disappointment, lifting my head up to glare at the Jedi's interruption.

"Getting a massage. What does it look like?"

The Jedi looked pissed as she crossed her arms, huffing.

"How typically male. You do realize that we have more important things to do_ right?"_

_"_It's lunch break already?" I said.

The Jedi huffed impatiently, rolling her eyes. "_No_, but after you decided to go galloping off with Canderous we've been waiting around in the room for a few hours now."

"Then why are you bothering me?"

I went to lay back down but the annoying brunette Jedi stepped into my field of view. I groaned and lifted my head up again, my neck stretching into new ways it never has before.

_"What_?"

"Do you even realize how much trouble we are in? And getting a _massage_ when the situation is life and dea-"

"And a bath. That was pretty relaxing too. You want to take one as well?"

The Jedi looked like an uncapped rocked about to burst. Since the slave wasn't going back to the relaxing treatment after so many interruptions, I sat up cracking my shoulder. I glanced towards Bastila and her face went red as I grabbed my white undershirt. I raised my eyebrows, smirking as she quickly walked out without another word.

How typically female.

After thanking the slave, putting on my pants and jacket, I walked outside to see Bastila tapping a rushed foot. Red was still lingering on her face as I shoved the jacket sleeve on my arm.

Canderous was still getting a relaxing treatment and I suddenly grew jealous that he didn't have some nagging Jedi on his ass.

Carth raised an eyebrow at me when I walked out, realization forming on his face.

"Come on, I like a massage as much as the next guy, but we are not exactly on vacation here."

I smiled, shrugging my now tender shoulders. "We could die today. Better to go off relaxed and pleased then stressed and tired."

The pilot narrowed his eyes at me before shaking and holding his head.

"You know-what was I expecting you to say?"

"Words of wisdom that could improve your dull existence?"

He sighed. "That's exactly what I knew you were going to say..."

I huffed, rolling my eyes, before glancing towards Bastila who was staring deeply at me. I ogled her back and she groaned in response, walking past me with long strides. I smiled when I saw that blush reappear on her stoic Jedi face again.

"Someone get Canderous. We need to go," she ordered

I wondered why she didn't storm in on him like she did for me. Was she expecting to see something? I smirked again but decided not to tease the Jedi for once. We had a ship to steal after all.

After Carth insisted to Canderous that we had to leave, the mando stomped out of the massage room, cracking his neck.

"Don't tell my wife about this..." he muttered to himself. "She already has enough reasons to kill me."

I raised my eyebrows.

"Wife?"

He glared at me with those dark eyes from before. I think they were meant to scare me but I felt no such emotion.

"We have no time for small talk."

I shook my head, following Carth out into the hall who was just as confused as I was. I hadn't expected such a hard knuckled mandalorian like Ordo to actually have a wife to settle down with. I guess he really didn't want to talk about it. I heard that mandalorian women had the blood thirst of firaxa sharks and the brutality of a rancor.

It was supposedly not lunch time yet despite Bastila's insistence. We returned to the one room we bothered opening and sat around for a few hours. Spinning my lucky coin around on the table soon became as interesting as a white collared executive from Corellia and I began longing for the massage that Bastila took away from me. I also longed for my Pazaak deck, at least we could have played a few mock rounds to kill time. Not for money of course since all of us were broke and Carth owed me 1,000 anyway. Not that he ever offered to _give me_ that money.

T3 was silent and Bastila was still steaming over something in the corner, avoiding my eyes entirely. Did I really ruin her Jedi abstinence with a single look? She was taking all of that way too seriously. Meanwhile, Carth played the drowsy house cat and stared at the wall for an hour. Canderous played the restless dog that never had the chance to run around and paced the room nervously.

Finally it was time and all of us had no real idea what to do except the mandalorian. Of course.

"Getting in will be easy. Trying to avoid tripping security won't be. We have no other option but to make a run for it. I assume all of you have weapons?"

The fifth pistol I've had this week. But yes. The mando nodded his head when Carth and Bastila eyed their own hidden weapons. "Well, if what you said about the Sith fleet is true...then they'll be bombing Taris really soon. Hopefully that'll be enough of a distraction."

Truly, a cruel and cold way to describe the future destruction of billions.

I could have drawn Carth's face, that was how sure I was of his reaction to the mando's words. He had no real time to complain when Ordo opened the room doors. The hall was always silent, no one except the few cleaning droids swept by. We left our boredom prison and headed down with soft feet. I could tell Bastila felt like sprinting down that hallway and to be honest I really wanted to do the same. I was tired of Taris, I wanted to see the vacuums of space once again. I was born to travel the galaxy, to be free amongst the stars.

Ugh...that almost sounded poetic. My brain went soft along with the massage treatment. I guess that was the only negative side effect.

The hanger was just past the throne room and through another hallway. Using T3, we were going to hack and dispose of the Hawk's shields and climb aboard, flying away into space. Just saying it made the task sound so easy but believe me, it was nothing but.

A few blaster shots after minutes of walking around the dubbed "forbidden zone" and we were caught by lounging rodian and human Exchange workers. Fortunately, none of them had a comm at hand. They wouldn't have been able to use one anyway since Canderous was so quick with that heavy weapon of his and Bastila threw one of the men like flimsy plastic into electric circuits. I couldn't even do anything, that was how capable these two were. I think that Carth felt the same way as I did as he sighed, shoving his blasters back into their holsters.

The throne room was suspiciously empty and the next hall had either two incapable interns in crime or the janitors. Either way, they both sucked at fighting and Canderous didn't even give the Jedi a choice to use her Force powers.

I paused. This was..._too_ easy. There was something going on here...and I had a bad feeling about it.

Damn it, Carth really was starting to rub off on me.

* * *

**Finally! Guess what's next chapter? Goodbye Taris! I'm excite about writing the escape so look out for the next chapter. **


	11. Tabula Rasa

**Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic**

* * *

**Strong Winds**

* * *

**Chapter Ten**

I used to have a ship myself, The Tabula Rasa.

The name was something I didn't choose so the hypocrisy that would most likely pointed out by the careful observer was nonexistent. The Rasa was a scavenged Republic hammerhead - an old model from the Exar Khun wars perhaps. There I served under the captain - who was the woman that named the ship - until I took over myself.

As we went down the halls of Davik's Estate I couldn't place the name of the woman that raised me as a smuggler. I couldn't really believe myself, after all she had been an important part of my life...how could I just forget her name? She was an old hag, too old to continue the smuggling business. Most of the crew was scared by her witch like appearance and strange ideals even though I was fascinated by them.

A brush on my shoulder and I woke up from my reverie.

"Stop daydreaming. We're trying to escape here," Carth said lowly.

We were before a door that led to the torture chambers - I mean "guest" chambers. Canderous mentioned that the pilot of the Ebon Hawk had skimmed some spices on the last flight he took so he suffered under droid tortures. I mean, that was a little extreme I think. Spice wasn't really rare what with all the smugglers out and about stealing from the Republic's supply. Maybe on Taris though now that I think about it. They've been blockaded...what, three times already?

Carth was still staring at me and I sighed, standing up. I was the rogue in this little group right now after all. I knew how to slice into doors that Davik apparently didn't know how to protect properly. Beside for his precious Hawk of course.

After slicing into the door, Bastila walked past me with her lightsaber fully drawn and lit. Two dark torture droids shot out at us with stun blasters and the Jedi easily took them out. Out of all things, droids just couldn't resist lightsabers what with their wires and all. The damn things were stuck on the ceiling they had no hope of surviving to begin with.

Canderous peered in after the firefight and walked towards the computer with a poor man in a cage, slouching in a fetal position. He was muttering a few words that I couldn't understand after the mando turned off the system.

The warrior groaned, lifting the poor man up and shoved him roughly against the wall.

"Tell us the codes to open the shields guarding the Ebon Hawk or I will cut you open here and now."

"Y-You're that mandalorian. Please...don't hurt me!"

"I'm going to have to if you don't hurry up and give us the codes."

Bastila was walking quickly towards the brutal mandalorian and shoved him aside, holding the poor pilot up so that he wouldn't fall over in pain again.

"Ignore him. But please, give us the codes before-"

An explosion. A few rumbles from far away. My eyes widened as I peered away from the prisoner and up into where the sky would be. T-They were really bombing the planet? My mouth went dry as I realized we didn't have much time before the fleet was above us so I stomped towards Bastila and the prisoner.

I raised my blaster up to his face, grabbing him by the collar and shoving Bastila aside. It seemed as if Carth was the only one staying behind with the droid.

"Give us the codes or I swear-"

"A-Alight! I will...I wasn't going to say no..."

And so, after the spice addicted pilot punched the codes into T3-M4, he made a run for it when the mandalorian pointed his repeating rifle at him. Another bang and I made to run in the opposite direction of the addicted pilot, ignoring Bastila and Carth who were following me.

"Was that really necessary?" Bastila shouted at me.

I wondered what she was talking about but I didn't get the chance to ask her when we got to the hanger. T3-M4 opened the door quickly and without hesitation, beeping a nervous complaint. Force damn, hurry up toaster! I really felt like kicking the damn thing.

Carth had the face of a soldier during battle and Canderous had the face of a bloodthirsty psycho. I wasn't sure what expression I preferred but it sure wasn't calm. For Bastila, she was always angry looking as her default. No matter what.

Finally, the droid opened the door and we were met with a deep red sky. I almost thought the atmosphere above us was bleeding but in fact the Sith ships were sending nuclear bombs and chemical waste onto the surface. They were heading towards us from the south fortunately...our apartment was much further north and we still had a chance to get Mission and the others.

A few ships stood vigil in the hanger. One stood out of course, the only one that had shield pillars surrounding it. The Ebon Hawk looked fast, faster than the Rasa. I sort of grew jealous when I saw the ship and glanced towards Bastila who appeared understandably impatient. The computer beside the shields was glowing blue, two figures standing beside it.

"What do you mean you don't know the codes, Calo? You've flown on this ship before!"

Davik was shouting at the bounty hunter who had a scowl deeper than any Outer Rim canyon.

"You sent the pilot to the guest room, Davik, not me."

The crime lord looked like he wanted to kill his own mercenary before he caught sight of us. He grew smug at our appearance, raising his blaster rifle.

"Look at what we have here, thieves in the hanger."

I rolled my eyes. "Don't pretend you aren't one yourself, Davik," I said.

Not that I wasn't one either. Oh well.

Finally, the Sith were close enough to hit Davik's Estate. Everyone of us bulked when the lasers hit the floors above us, the metal beams shaking. Carth finally unholstered his blasters, smirking. I did the same, eyeing the crime lord and his pet.

Calo snorted. "I knew you were going to betray us someday Canderous. I'm not surprised."

"I'm sorry it had to come to this _pal," _Ordo retorted.

The bounty hunter raised his own weapon as he glanced towards me.

"I find it ironic how you've decided to join _him_ though. I guess all enemies become-"

"Save your breath Calo. You won't have much left when I kill you," the warrior shouted.

Another shot from the Sith yet...this one was precise. So precise that the shield guarding the Ebon Hawk reflected the laser and hit...

And so ended the great crime lord Davik. Rather anticlimactic.

I wasn't expecting the laser to hit the crime lord so precisely. Fate was out to get him apparently. Calo Nord rolled away from the debris that was now Davik Kang, shooting at us. I cursed when the shot almost hit me directly and began my own attack, walking closer to get a better shot. Unfortunately, the building was shaking too much for my hit to be precise. Canderous and Carth made the same vain attempt while Bastila reflected the blaster shots coming from the bounty hunter.

I made another shot when I saw that Bastila was our shield and was able to hit his arm squarely. I smirked and almost made the killing shot when Calo Nord raised a hand, a detonator flickering in the red lights.

He wheezed. "You kill me and no one gets the Hawk."

My eyes widened along with Bastila and Carth's. This man was crazy. He was going to destroy the Ebon Hawk in spite if he died. I eyed Bastila and gave her the signal to use the Force on his ass but she didn't see my expression and instead extinguished our only protection.

Another rumble from above. The Sith sent out another nuke and the light was almost blinding as the skyscrapers were consumed in fire. T3 shouted in horror and I held my hand up to my face to shield myself from the rays. A few unprotected ships were destroyed and I even noticed some flying ones being disintegrated by the damn automatic turrets.

"Wes!" I heard Carth shout.

I flinched when I saw something in the corner of my eye from above. The roof! Damn it! Metal from the hanger ceiling began to descend on Calo Nord as I stood there in complete awe. I didn't even notice a beam heading my way. Calo wasn't going to be the only victim here.

I took a few steps back but that wouldn't be enough. Calo Nord looked frightened himself as he struggled to stand up fully but he would never get the chance to run.

I felt a strong force pull me away when the beam collapsed. Another flash in my peripheral vision and I was dragged to the ground by the large force. White pain from my leg barely registered into my senses when I gazed up into Bastila's eyes. She was like an angel of death, truly. It was mesmerizing yet...also frightening. I think Carth was beside me as well with Canderous standing close behind him. The droid was rolling towards the computer that was surprisingly still intact.

The red world around me suddenly slowed down.

_I was dying_..._suffocating...dark. _

I sat up quickly and realized what was wrong. Part of the beam had trapped my left leg and I couldn't get up never mind escape. The shimmer of the Ebon Hawk's shield drew my eyes away from the worried people beside me. Bastila was trying to move the beam manually along with Carth who didn't look hopeful at all.

I groaned myself, not exactly sure what I was going to do. I was trapped, probably dead now, and these two dumb-asses were trying to save me, a sinking ship by all means.

"Get out..." I muttered. "Both of you...!"

I...don't even know why I said those words. I liked my life after all. I wasn't going to risk it for these annoying people. But still...I would hate myself if Bastila and Carth died for me. I didn't deserve it.

For some reason, my words only strengthened the Jedi's resolve. Her hard grey eyes gave me a puzzled stare that I returned in kind, Carth pausing in his rescue attempts.

"He's right. We need to go. _Now_," he said. "You're the only hope the Republic has, Bastila."

You know, I'm so glad that Carth found me so important to this mission that it wouldn't take him a second to ponder leaving me behind. I knew the damn soldier hated me.

I peered up and spotted Canderous who was lowering the Ebon Hawk's incline.

The ground shook again and I knew we only had a few minutes before the Sith fleet was right on top of us. I swallowed, prepared to die I guess. I definitely did not like the prospect but what was I supposed to do? I couldn't move at all! This whole thing...it had been doomed to failure from the start.

I just knew that my good fortune would catch up to me eventually.

Bastila glared at Carth. "We aren't leaving him behind," she muttered lowly.

Wait..._what_?

The Jedi suddenly moved, sitting in a meditative like pose. I gave her a curious look as I suddenly felt warm...as if I was beside a nice fire. Carth was giving the Jedi a look when the beam suddenly moved. I raised an eyebrow when the whole thing began to float off towards where Calo Nord's dead body probably was. Damn...how did she do that? Was the Force really that powerful?

Yeah, I wouldn't know since I'm not a Jedi.

"Come on we have to go!" Canderous shouted.

I was pulled up to my feet roughly by Carth and winced as he practically dragged me after Bastila. I didn't even want to look down at my mangled leg...I didn't want to know how bad it was. And I knew that it would begin to hurt if I saw the damage.

Fortunately, the pilot didn't seem concerned about my pain because as soon as we entered the ship the whole roof collapsed. If I had been slower well...both of us would have died.

I didn't really get the chance to observe the ship since Carth was still dragging me forward like a dog. I saw a speeder...a medbay...a few rooms with beds and a bathroom... then the bridge which was barely big enough to fit all of us.

I was finally released at the bridge and sucked in my teeth, leaning my body against the wall. I finally saw the bloody damage and almost fell down completely when I saw what used to be my leg. Bastila was giving me a concerned look but Carth was all business, shoving the mandalorian aside and started up the Hawk's engines.

"Out of the damn way," he shouted quickly.

Ordo groaned in response, stepping back.

"You Republic soldiers and your damn ships," he muttered.

I finally couldn't hold my own weight up and had to sit on the ground. I...know I should have gone to the medbay but what was happening now was too important. Pain wasn't a big deal anyway. Not when we still had friends on the ground.

Bastila had a comm out, I could hear Mission's frightened voice on the other side.

"People are getting crazy down here! You have to be careful when you come. They will do anything to climb on board with us."

I suddenly felt my heart sink when I heard those words. Taris was a sinking ship as well...and the rescue pod named the Ebon Hawk only had enough room for the "special" passengers. The injustice was so enormous...that I felt like screaming right then and there. This was happening...just like Deralia.

I rarely thought about my home world...after all I wanted to try and remember the beautiful and happy things from my childhood. That still had to remain, no matter what. I would remember my parents smiles despite the fire that took them away.

The Ebon Hawk shook as it was struck, the shield flickering and cracking. This ship was indeed fast and Carth was focused entirely outside the window, weaving around falling skyscrapers like they were asteroids. I saw that Canderous still had the smirk on his face as if the destruction of billions was a riot and Bastila was hurrying to type something in. Probably coordinates? I didn't know...my mind was too clouded with pain to really pay attention to what was going on.

A few stray red lasers hit the Ebon Hawk that caused my heart to beat even more rapidly. I eyed Bastila and she looked just as horrified. How could these Sith do this to a planet? To any planet?

And I could feel something...like a million people screaming in my head. They were pleading for mercy...some of them holding dead children in their arms. The images were...too strong and I had to shake my head a few times to get them out of my mind. But they were still clear as day...every explosion I could hear screaming. The pain was greater than my own leg as I sat back, feeling sweat coarse down my forehead as I closed my eyes.

This was just...too unreal.

I suddenly felt a presence beside me and glared at it. The brunette Jedi was out of the copilot seat for some reason and was standing before me. It's like...whenever she looks at me now she's worried.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

I paused, trying to process what she said after realizing that she was out of the copilot's seat to begin with. What in all hells was she doing? She had to help Carth! I moved sharply causing her to cock her head slightly.

Don' t tell me...she was reading my emotions with her damn Jedi powers again. Force...

"Do I look like I'm alright?" I half shouted over the explosions.

Another laser beam hit the Hawk and Onasi cursed as the shields flickered. I could tell where we were now so we were getting close to our apartment. The explosions were getting milder yet they were still present.

Bastila sighed before getting to her knees in front of me.

"No...you don't look alright at all."

I narrowed my eyes and glanced towards Canderous who for some bizarre reason still had his heavy weapon out as if the damn window was going to kill him.

"Shouldn't you be, I don't know, helping Carth with getting us the hell out of here?" I said bitterly through the pain in my leg.

She ignored that comment as she took a look at my leg. I lashed out when she touched the crushed thing that it was now.

"Don't..._touch_...it..." I growled through my teeth.

"You probably will have to be on your feet again helping us soon. I want to know if you can take the strain for a bit longer."

Canderous snorted and regripped his repeater rifle in his hands, rolling his dark eyes at the Jedi before stomping past T3 who beeped a suggestion. Wait..._the droid _wanted to help? I'm not sure if that would be such a good idea...

And...why did she save me anyway? We all could have died if that whole Force thing didn't work out. I don't really think I owed her much. In fact, I just wanted to sit here and not do anything-

T3-M4 rolled up to Bastila and produced a...kolto bandage? Where did he get one of those? I'm pretty sure that T3s weren't a medical droid model - they repaired ships not people.

I gave the droid a strange look before he beeped again, rolling away towards...oh. The medbay. I really must have been out of it to not realize that T3 stepped out for a bit.

I took in a sharp breath when the Jedi wrapped the bandage around my obviously broken foot. I wondered if I would ever be able to walk on the damn thing again. Well...it sure felt like it.

I could see people running around the apartment and a few figures standing out in the balcony. The only crazy ones to remain in a skyscraper never mind strolling around on one of the balconies were Mission, Zaalbar, and the kid.

The kolto stuck easily on my bloody leg as I stood with Bastila's help. The pain was beginning to numb a bit however I knew that I wouldn't be able to help a seven foot wookie never mind a little frightened boy. So, I sat beside Carth in the copilot seat while Bastila and Canderous helped the three on board. I didn't like sitting back and watch the action happen but for once I was grateful that I could at the very least sit down.

I saw the unfamiliar coordinates Bastila put down and ignored them, calling T3 over so that we could finally put in the codes and escape. Carth eyed me as he concentrated on hovering over the apartment complex, sweat beading down his forehead as he eyed the coming fire.

Zaalbar practically threw the poor slave boy while Mission jumped aboard with a hand grasping her wrist. While they were busy being rescued I spotted a few figures at the corner of my eyes.

They were...the Uppercity dwellers. Most of them were aliens due to the fact that the apartment was very low class and many of them spotted us rescuing our teammates. A laser beam rocked the apartment and all of the figures...every single one of them...became space dust, vaporizing into worthless nothingness. The janitor was dead now along with that suspicious neighbor we never bothered investigating or those shopkeepers that provided us with the crappy food for days.

I could hear the screams again and when Zaalbar finally jumped on board, the ship rocking with his weight, I saw Carth give the controls a stressed smirk.

"Hold on," he muttered.

Bastila stomped in, eyeing T3 who beeped a sigh of relief. I was quick to stand, not really into being Carth's copilot never mind sitting close to the soldier. The Ebon Hawk glided up quickly, passing through explosions and fire wakes, diving past fallen skyscrapers.

The Sith fleet was pointing all of their guns at the planet so none of those dangerous blasts directly hit us. Bastila took the seat again, reluctantly I noticed, and began turning on all of the Ebon's space systems. I leaned against the wall again but didn't sit down, the pain was gradually fading away despite how terrible it looked.

We were soon in space, rocketing past the automatic turrets like they were nothing and headed towards the system's star. Out of all the smuggling heists and getaways...I have never been this close to death before. And I have been close to death.

The Sith fleet was still very close, close enough to notice that a ship was getting away.

"Shit..." Carth muttered, swerving the Hawk.

Hundreds of small fighters began to head in our direction and I blanched at the reaction Malak had to us leaving. We were not an army! We couldn't fend off hundreds of fighters like nothing!

But still...

I limped away, Bastila calling out, asking where I was going again. The ship had a confusing layout, not like normal Republic ships. The halls twisted on each other and I had to stop when the ship rumbled, some of the fighters catching up to us.

I finally found them, the Ebon Hawk's manual turrets. We might as well fight them till the end.

When I finally climbed in, after cursing my damn leg to Hoth's tundra, the comm beside me buzzed on.

"You are insane, you know that right?" Carth said, grunting when one of the fighters hit our ship. I pulled the triggers out quickly and the things just shot on. I haven't used a turret since...well I've _never_ used a turret gun in my life. There are many firsts I suppose.

I painfully smirked. "Yeah...I know I'm crazy. You don't need to tell me twice."

The thing began to circle around and I realized that the gun had a tracking system installed on it, the red crosshairs hovering over the Sith fighters. How advanced was this Ebon Hawk anyway?

I shot out at one of the fighters, missing by a hair and grunting when they hit the Hawk's shields in retaliation.

I knew that the Hyperdrive had to take a few minutes before we could jump so I had to fend off these annoying bugs until then. I became determined, turning the manual turret to face the dying planet. The thin line that had been Taris' skyscrapers had become a row of flames and I almost didn't react when a fighter began shooting directly at me.

But, when I finally did react, he became a trash compactor's lunch.

Despite the victory, I didn't rejoice since at least five of them replaced the one. I swung the triggers around to follow the path of the annoying fighters, wincing when I felt the pain in my foot again. Was I putting too much strain on it? I couldn't tell because I was too focused...

"We're ready to jump!" I heard Bastila shout in the comm and I grew to love those words.

We were going to escape. I just...couldn't believe we actually did it...We did the impossible.

However, I couldn't celebrate with them when the fighters shot a large volley at the Hawk. The force of the tremor and the jump shook me so much that I released my hold on the triggers, my head smashing into the metal behind me.

**W**

_A tall figure stared out at me with dark eyes, metal encasing his chin. The room we were in was dark yet I could see this tall man clear as day in the darkness. His eyes were humored and his laugh reverberated through the machine. Normally, it would be a deep rumble but this man resembled more of a machine than man._

_As if he was programmed to continue his chaos-_

_"So...you're alive."_

My eyes flickered open to a white room, the florescent lights blinking as quickly as I was.

I felt a small amount of weight beside me, the dark haired boy snoozing quietly at my side. I paused, lifting my head up slightly to give him a better look. A figure walked by the medbay - that only consisted of one bed - and Bastila appeared with raised eyebrows.

"You're finally up? Good."

I rubbed the back of my head. This was, what, the third time this week my head has gone through abuse? No wonder why the damn thing hurt all the time...

This little boy stirred quietly, lifting his head like it weighed a ton. When he saw that I was up he jumped at me.

"Mar'e!" he shouted.

...He spoke mando'a too? Who was this kid and how many damn languages did he know? He was confusing the hell out of me.

I waved a hand, placating him. "Yes, yes, I'm alright. You didn't have to worry."

He began to speak rapidly in another language that I didn't understand and I wondered...had this boy been raised with a combination of many dialects or was he doing this on purpose? Bastila was giving the boy a strange look as well before shaking her own head.

I pursed my lips as I ignored the boy and gave the Jedi my own look.

"Where are we going by the way?" I asked.

She crossed her arms. "Dantooine. There is a hidden Jedi refuge that we can hide out in until the Sith leave the Outer Rim. We were...heading there before the Endar Spire had been destroyed."

I narrowed my eyes before looking at the poor boy smiling at me. This Jedi wanted to do her little "mission" but I wasn't going to have it anymore. Not after witnessing Taris' destruction. I knew what I was getting myself into and I wasn't going to have any part of it. To go on would make me a complete idiot. I had nothing to gain helping the Republic so why should I?

I stretched, groaning, my left leg numb from the pain relievers.

"I guess that will be where we part ways then. It's been nice knowing you but I have better things to be doing then risking my life. You understand."

Her raised look told me otherwise.

"There is still your strange affiliation with the Force."

I groaned. That again? True...events have been a bit _strange_ of late and that I have been able to do things that are supposedly dubbed "impossible" but that didn't make me a Jedi. Her little council wasn't going to hear from me and I wasn't going to hear them.

She saw the defiance on my face... so she sat down like a parent reassuring a little kid that it was just a nightmare. I gave her a hooded look that I reserved for her and she gave me a similar look back.

"You sensed Taris, didn't you? I could tell. It wasn't just your leg that pained you back there."

My eyes remained stationary.

"How do you know that?"

"So you did?"

Damn it, she was learning...

I groaned, flinging my feet over the side of the bed only to be reminded why I was injured in the first place. There were more wrappings around my leg and the salty smell of kolto almost wanted to make me vomit. We really needed a proper medical droid, didn't we? I doubted T3 knew the necessary programs...well I'll just have to fix that later now, won't I?

Well...not that it mattered since I was leaving this group the second we landed in Datooine. And no one was going to stop me. Not even a damn Sith fleet.

Bastila was waiting for an answer so I groaned again, this time out of annoyance.

"Yeah, what of it?" I asked sharply.

She gave me a second look as if I confirmed her hypothesis.

"Then you will have to see the Jedi Council on Datooine before anything else. An adult this strong in the Force is...abnormal."

I huffed, using the bed as support when standing. The Jedi took a step closer to me, worry on her face. Yes, my damn leg hurt and no I didn't need anyone's help. Especially not some Jedi that was trying to convince me to join her little cult.

The little boy jumped down as well, eyeing me carefully. I decided to limp down the hall, using a crutch that popped out conveniently from the medbay wall.

Bastila was still following me when I entered the main foyer of the Ebon Hawk. A holoprojector sat in the middle and instead of the normal function of displaying figures, the mandalorian sat tapping his fingers on the glass.

I could never escape these idiots. They were everywhere.

Canderous looked up, smirking. "A nice display there Wessy. You might want to check what's behind you next time."

Force...that nickname was spreading like wildfire.

I laughed twice - with sarcasm of course - and limped past him to go to...I had no idea. This ship was a maze. The halls would be just fine I guess...if the Jedi wasn't still here. The little boy had crawled away somewhere else.

"Stop following me."

"Don't you want to answer your own questions? Don't you want to know if you're Force sensitive at all?"

I stopped and turned around, pointing at her with my right hand.

"I _don't_ actually. To be quite honest I would rather return to the galaxy while avoiding the Sith relaxing in my _own _ship in the middle of nowhere. _Alone_." I turned around. "Now, excuse me but I would like some peace and quiet without some nosy Jedi-prick walking all over me. I still have to figure out how many credits I need to get the next ship transpor-"

Something like wind tripped me and I fell flat on my face. My leg was not spared and I had to suck in breath in order not to shout a curse at this stupid woman. Why wouldn't she just take my answer as is? Didn't the Jedi not accept adult trainees anyway? What was she trying to do exactly?

"What was that for!" I shouted at her.

"For being a selfish nerfherder. And to stop you from walking away again."

I wasn't sure if the Jedi would approve of the Force being used for such nefarious purposes. She might join Malak if she keeps this up.

"Well, now I'm crawling away. Thanks a lot," I muttered.

But instead of crawling, I tried to stand up again only to find another hand helping me up. Force...why was she trying to _help _me when she was the one who used her damn powers to trip me in the first place?

This woman...

"Look, you are only making things difficult for yourself. You've seen what you were able to do on Taris. What if you hurt someone on accident someday? Would you want that on your conscious?"

I snorted. "Well, I was going to _avoid _people for the most part."

Bastila still hadn't released me.

"And what are you going to do? Just sit around and do _nothing_ about this?"

...Now that she mentioned it, sitting around the Outer Rim with no one around sounded very depressing and lonely. I was a man of adventure after all...not one to sit around playing Pazaak all day. I... just couldn't justify risking my life for these people anymore. And Taris...the billions of people that died...the chin masked man...I just didn't want to think about it. I lived by a code, if the buts were worth the credits then it would feel worth the trouble.

I doubted the Jedi had a livable salary. What did they live on anyway?

So, I shook the Jedi's hand away.

"Sure, why not? Better than dying."

She didn't bother following me again. Fortunately...I think.

I limped around the Ebon Hawk before I heard small sniffles. Pausing, I listened carefully before heading towards one of the small rooms. Mission was there, bent over her bed looking like a complete mess. I wasn't exactly sure what to think seeing this poor teen in a state, crying. No matter how many times she professed she wasn't a kid...I think the fast maturity damaged her unknowingly.

She looked up, probably hearing the clacks of my crutch. She looked away quickly before sighing, rubbing her eyes.

"Go away," she muttered.

I shrugged. "If you really want me to..."

Before I could turn around fully and walk away however, the twi'lek stood. "Why did this have to happen? Zaedra...Gadon...they're all dead! Because of _her_. If Bastila had never been on Taris-!"

I paused before sighing, limping closer to the saddened girl.

"You probably hate her too...but the Sith were the ones to drag the Endar Spire to Taris in the first place. I don't really think...you should blame Bastila for that."

Funny since I blamed that Jedi for everything right now.

Mission's face softened as she wiped a stubborn tear away from her face, sighing sadly. Her anger drifted away almost to nothing when I said those words and she nodded, sitting down on her bed. I think I was beginning to see what Carth meant. No kid should see the destruction of her own planet.

"Yeah...I guess you're right, Wessy. I guess...it's just...this whole thing is so unfair! I was raised on Taris, the place was my only home ever. My brother brought me there when I was little. I thought that by following you...I would be able to find him again. Instead...I just escaped from my own planet, leaving my other friends behind."

I smiled sadly. "Hey, you still have Zaalbar," I raised my eyebrows, "and you have a brother?"

I never saw him anywhere around Taris. I'm pretty sure blue twi'leks are a rare bunch.

She nodded her head, sniffing.

"His name is Griff...you've been around the galaxy, right? And you're a smuggler? Have you seen Griff anywhere? Anywhere at all?"

Whoa wait. Why did she assume that I would know this Griff because I was a smuggler? Was he a con too?

I shook my head and she deflated. Worried that she might start crying again, I rushed to speak.

"But that's normal for me. I don't really...explore the planets I go to."

In fact I just pissed around in the cantinas drunk. I doubt I would remember anyone really, even a blue twi'lek. Mission sighed before leaning back, looking off into space.

"It's all because of that bitch Lena. If she didn't take my brother away...well." She paused. "I probably wouldn't have met you guys and escaped."

I didn't really know what to say about that. To be honest...I didn't want to become emotionally attached to any of these people before I left. I didn't know most of my crew before they all exploded and for good reason. If any of them talked to me as a person...or thought of me as a friend...I don't think I would have been as successful as I was. The cold distance gave me room to think really. Enough room to use my crew to get as many credits as humanly possible.

Damn it...

I decided to sit next to her, my leg killing me. She eyed me lazily before looking off into space again. I frowned.

"You know what I say? The what ifs and the should have beens really don't matter." What, was I trying to convince myself of this? I shook my head. "You know...you sort of remind me of myself kid. I...well I went through a similar situation that you did when I was younger."

Her sad eyed looked up at me. "What happened?" she asked.

...I really didn't want to talk about it. No emotional attachments. Remember that Wes.

But for the sake of this kid...

I sighed. "My home planet, Deralia, was taken over by the mandalorians near the beginning of the war. I haven't returned there since...around twenty years ago now I guess? I haven't really been keeping track. Anyway...you aren't alone Mission. That's what I'm trying to say. And...what matters now..."

Is the Sith. They destroyed a whole planet rendering a strong girl like Mission Vao crying and regretful. All those billions of people, why shouldn't I do it for them? For Taris, for Telos...and maybe even for Deralia. I've been running for years...going to different planets on the Outer Rim to avoid what I truly cared about. Maybe I should stop running? Would that really hurt? I haven't tried for years after all...

I shook my head again. "What matters now is that Malak pays for what he did to Taris."

Mission looked up.

"Really?"

I eyed her and nodded with determination, standing up.

"I have nothing else better to do...and I can't just leave your 1,000 credits hanging around. I need to collect someday, you know."

I grabbed my crutch, limping away without really looking back at Mission again. Before I left, I ran into a wookie who looked down at me thoughtfully. I raised an eyebrow before walking around, heading towards the bridge.

I had to tell Carth that he owed me a hefty sum as well. With interest. After all, I didn't expect him to pay me back immediately.


	12. Dantooine

**Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic**

* * *

**Strong Winds**

* * *

**Chapter Eleven**

"So kid - guess I should have asked you before - what's your name?"

I was sitting in what was the Ebon Hawk's control room, rotating in a chair bored to absolute death. We would be making planet fall in around an hour meanwhile I could either listen to Canderous go on about the Mandalorian Wars like an old man or listen to Zaalbar's silence. I still wasn't ready to face Mission again. Bastila and Carth just plain annoyed me.

So I was stuck with the kid.

He looked up at me and tilted his head. I sighed before pointing at myself.

"I am Wes._ Wes_ get it?" I pointed to him. "And you are?"

He still looked confused so I groaned again, leaning back. "Have you understood us at all this entire time? Nod your head if you have."

And he didn't nod his head. Great, a little boy that didn't even understand Galactic Basic was trying to communicate with me. I was not in the mood to teach him so I guess all that was really left was for me to learn...whatever he knows.

The boy frowned before he himself sighed, mimicking me. I puckered my lips narrowing my eyes at him. Did this kid think he was funny or something?

So I tried my best using mando'a, at least to try and see how many words he knew of that dialect.

"_What is your calling-_er_-name?_" I asked in shaky mando'a.

Okay, don't shoot me. I understand languages better, not speak them.

The boy perked up, his ears like a real tach.

"Liam," he said."

Well...at least that was a start. Liam was smiling wide, probably happy that I could understand him. I know that I would be. Maybe he was able to soak in some Basic words. That was how I learned after all, out in the field, submerged in the language. Maybe eventually he will learn the language enough to speak fluently. He was young after all.

I smiled at him. "_Where are you from? How did you come to Taris_?"

He tilted his head, trying to listen to what I said probably.

"_Taris...you are?_"

So, he wasn't fluent in mando'a either. Force...at least be consistent! What sort of brain did this child have? From here it looked all messed up and uncontrolled. That first language he spoke was unknown to me so I couldn't communicate with him in that so I had to deal with mando'a.

"_Where was your...home?_" I asked, struggling with the word myself.

His eyes brightened.

"_Home_? _Are we going home?"_

I sighed. This conversation was more frustrating than normal when dealing with children. Liam sounded like a basic name, not mandalorian or rodian or anything weird. Which means his parents had to have been normal citizens of the Republic. Or not normal like me. Either way, he had been taken from them probably, otherwise he would have wanted me to bring his parents with him.

There was just...something with this kid that made him...different? No...it was something else. He had been in Brejik's slave pens so maybe his parents owed a debt. In that case...his parents were probably long dead.

But he didn't even cry when Taris was destroyed. His parents couldn't have been on the planet. The kid was a conundrum in a nutshell.

I decided to try one last time.

"_What planet were you born?_"

He smiled at me, nodding his head.

"_Malachor."_

My head jerked when I heard the name of that planet, twisting myself to give the kid a closer look.

"_Malachor_?"

_What_?

How the hell was that even possible? The planet...I heard that the planet had been destroyed to the core...by _Revan_. He didn't even look old enough to be four or five...and that placed his birth around the end of the Mandalorian Wars. _After _the planet had been decimated.

I may have avoided all contact with the outside world but I didn't ignore current news. I had to be up-to-date else I would risk running into something terrible, like mandalorians or Sith, after all.

I shook my head, looking at him in complete awe. Was he a mandalorian? A settler who used to live on the planet but somehow escaped? Actually...had there been settlers on Malacor? I don't really remember...

"A-Are you sure?" I asked.

But he didn't understand since I asked him in Basic. I groaned loudly, shaking my head again. "_And how did you get captured? Where are your parents?"_ I asked.

He frowned. "_Capture? I ran from home, see? Parents...I have don't._"

Yeah, he obviously just didn't understand mando'a sentence structure. Communicating further would get us nowhere so I gave up, standing, grabbing my crutch.

I was stopped by his voice as I left. "_And you? What is home yours?"_

I raised my eyebrows. But...the name of my home planet was stuck on the tip of my tongue. How could I just...forget? No...

I laughed quickly. "D-Deralia. That's right."

He gave me a confused look as I limped out of the control room heading towards the cockpit. That child...he was the strangest out of all of these people. Including myself.

Bastila was relaxing in the copilot seat, probably making herself sick staring out into hyperspace. She didn't look up when I clacked in so I assumed she didn't want to be bothered.

Carth was leaning back in his chair, looking disturbed. The random beeps coming from the controls distracted me long enough before the pilot gave me the time of day, turning around.

"What do you want?"

I limped over to the starmap, eyeing Dantooine and its coordinates. We were about an hour away. And I was still bored. I walked towards the Jedi tapping her chair.

"Rise and shine," I said. Bastila finally stirred from her reverie, looking up to glare at me. I smiled back at her.

Carth gave the Jedi an eye, a familiar look that I was used to him giving me. He sat forward in his chair, probably trying to appear less relaxed then he was. Bastila was like some rival to him or something, the way he acted around her made me assume so.

He gave me a look again. "Are you just going to stand there?"

I turned quickly to narrow my eyes at his posturing.

"Can't I walk around wherever I damn well please?" I asked in response.

Carth huffed. "This isn't your ship."

I smiled. "It was _Davik's _last I checked. And he's _dead_-"

"This ship wasn't Davik's _last I checked_. He obviously stole it from the Republic. There are military codes here and everythi-"

Bastila groaned as if our voices had been broken wine bottles, sinking deeper into the her skull and her copilot chair.

"We are almost to Dantooine. Can you both please not fight until we get there?"

Carth flicked his head to stare at the Battle Meditator. He looked prepared to ask his annoying questions again. Wonderful.

"Why were we even going to Dantooine in the first place? And don't go on to say that it was because of the 'Council's' orders. It's time you told us the truth, Bastila. After all, why would we hang around a Jedi Enclave when there is still a war to be fought?"

The Jedi leaned forward, holding her head in a way that I had once done. This pilot really did create headaches by speaking as if his own voice was a docking horn. At least he asked all the hard questions...at the wrong times of course.

Bastila looked up.

"Malak isn't going anywhere, Carth. The Republic has them cornered in the Outer Rim. They won't be hitting the Core Worlds anytime soon."

"That is what the Republic said before the Mandalorian Wars. They didn't stop there because the Republic looked 'menacing,' did they?"

I raised my eyebrow at the mention of that war but otherwise decided to lean against the wall and enjoy their arguing. I was intending to become a wallflower and take in how I _wasn't_ participating in this fight. For once.

The Jedi rolled her eyes. "I remember it taking more than a few years before that happened."

"Of course...the Republic had more troops then but that isn't the point. The point is that you were taking the Endar Spire to Dantooine for some unknown mission that you didn't want to tell us about. If it's to increase your proficiency at Battle Meditation or whatever then fine but you haven't even given that excuse. It's all very suspicious to me."

The young Jedi sneered at Carth before finding something interesting in the corner.

"I believe that is none of your business, Carth."

The pilot glanced towards me and I tried to ignore him by looking in the same spot that Bastila was. Try to look inconspicuous...breath like a flower. He turned around in his chair, probably to get a better look at me.

"Then what about Wes here? Why have you made it his business?"

Whatever Bastila was looking at it wasn't interesting enough. I glared at Carth then with a raised brow. What exactly was he getting at? Maybe he could read minds too? Carth Onasi with Force powers...sounded scary.

And "made it my business?" Bastila has never made any of her business my concern _ever_. Except for the fact that I can use the Force _probably_. I still haven't heard her sob about her life story as a Jedi yet. Probably because she had no _damn emotions. _Maybe?

I snorted, smirking. "Don't get _me _into this now..."

"You've always been a part of this. Don't think that I have no idea about your little smuggler passenger, Bastila."

The Jedi looked genuinely shocked, looking between us as if not knowing who to address. If she had two heads she probably would have looked at both of us with expressions of shock.

I would have crossed my arms if I had the one free. So...she knew I was a smuggler before this? Well...I guess that would make sense...

Her face returned to its stoic nature. "He was added to the Endar Spire because of his abilities with-I mean his skills with multiple languages."

"Bullshit," Carth quickly said.

I probably would have said the same thing with him if I didn't want the Jedi to cut my head off from the shoulders. The grey eyed woman only seemed annoyed at Carth and didn't even look inclined to answer him. So much for his interrogation, probably why he was the pilot and not the commander.

Bastila sighed then faced the soldier again.

"Look, you can't get an answer from me, Carth. It just won't ever happen."

Carth laughed sardonically once before settling back down in his pilot's seat. He didn't look like he wanted to fight anymore.

"I'm sorry but I hate surprises, Bastila. But we'll do things your way. For now. But don't think that I will just up and forget about this. Because I _won't_."

I looked between them before groaning with frustration. The both looked at me curiously.

"Force...I wasted all this time to get you guys fighting only for Carth to give up so easily..." I muttered to myself sadly. I shook my head slowly. "For shame people. For. Shame."

The Jedi opened her mouth, shocked, mimicking Carth.

"_What_...?" Bastila muttered. "You _manipulated _us to fight for your own amusement...? We aren't your lab gizkas!"

Because of course it was my intention to listen to these two bicker over something so _stupid_. I was actually looking forward to them fighting over who had the largest lightsaber but...I guess I can't pick and choose. Carth lacked a lightsaber for one so the fight wouldn't have even started at all...

I snorted. "Of course you're not. Why would you think you were gizka to begin with?"

Carth narrowed his own eyes at me.

"Manipulative bastard..."

I shrugged before smirking at them.

"What...? I'm bored, I can't help myself. Now I have to wait around an extra hour with nothing to do. Thanks a lot guys."

And I limped out, ready to take a short rest before we landed.

**W**

Normally, I would never have any reason to go to Dantooine at all. It was a planet in the middle of nowhere that had other wisely no significance. The Exchange saw no profit in the planet, Czreka saw no credits in the planet, and the Republic saw no use in the planet.

It was unwanted, therefore the Jedi wanted it.

The sun was setting when we landed on the golden plain planet, birds and other critters flying out of bushes and cliffs. Most of the planet looked like a farming community barely scrapping by. Other wisely, a very boring and uneventful place.

...is what I would have said if I didn't know a Jedi Enclave resided here.

I yawned slowly, glancing towards Bastila whose entire focus was on the enclave that Carth had been directed to. I swear I hadn't had a decent nights sleep in a _year_. The nap I tried to have...didn't exactly succeed. I was too worried with what could happen once we landed.

I still wasn't sure about staying with this group. They could lead me to an early grave after all. Were all of these _buts _worth 2,000 credits and a twi'lek girl's feelings? Taris exploding must have gotten to my head with all of the traumatizing residual emotions from years gone by. I wasn't that stupid.

The Ebon Hawk landed, the pilot shutting off the engine. I unbuckled, standing up slowly grabbing my crutch. The kolto was working to get rid of the pain but my leg was by all means still broken. Hopefully the thing would heal in a weeks time. And by then...maybe I'll leave.

Carth stood up himself and stretched, eyeing me in his normal annoyed looking way. We all walked into the garage, Canderous messing with the speeder that came with the freighter. He stood up, wiping his brow.

"Is there any reason why we've stopped?" he asked me.

I shrugged a response while Bastila ignored the mandalorian, pressing a switch to open the ramp to the outside. Zaalbar and Liam strode in giving the three of us a look. That only left Mission. I eyed the wookie a question however he only shook his head.

"Mission wants to be left alone for now. She's...still upset over Taris."

I lowered my head in understanding. A kid couldn't just get over the murders of billions in one day. At least she wasn't pointing fingers anymore...

I caught Bastila's eye once before the incline finally fell to the ground. I raised an eyebrow at her but she didn't bother lingering, stomping down the ramp like she owned the damn place. Carth followed so I decided to ignore that strange look, following the commander.

The air on this planet was fresher than any I had been on before. In fact, the place reminded me a lot of Deralia, clean air, beautiful skies, just like a...home. Funny that. A few droids floated around the Hawk and performed quick maintenance checks, blinking red and beeping alarmingly. Yeah...the ship was a mess.

Two figures stood in the afternoon shade, one an imp looking creature that I've actually never seen before and an older man, both in Jedi robes.

When Bastila got to the ground, she bowed respectfully to each before standing up straight.

"Master Vandar. Master Dorak. I'm so glad to see both of you."

The imp creature - named Vandar I suppose - smiled tightly towards the Jedi.

"And you as well Bastila. We know what happened at Taris, the Force echoed dangerously, so we have been worried for you and..."

His eyes flicked towards us who were apparently invisible around Bastila. Carth straightened up a bit while the wookie and kid just stared onward. I didn't even have the energy to give them a look back. I just wanted to go to sleep. Actually, maybe eat something first. We skipped lunch after all.

I smirked. Funny how my mind drifted to the mundane when we were standing in front of Jedi masters. I was drifting off so much, yawning, therefore I didn't notice that the two masters were staring at me. I gave them a look back. What did they want? Couldn't they see that I was an exhausted mess?

The other master, Dorak, gave Bastila a look. "I assume that you have a lot to explain. We would like for you to debrief the Council over what happened at Taris and discuss your mission..."

Carth perked up when he heard that word. "What mission are you guys even talking about?" he asked.

Vandar gave Onasi a sympathized look. "We understand why you ask Commander Carth but this business is only between Bastila and the Jedi Council. You have to understand that the fate of the galaxy is at stake."

I rolled my eyes. Sounded like excuses, even to me. And it wasn't just Carth giving me the paranoid bug.

"You sure you guys don't want to share this mission with us? We almost died for this 'fate of the galaxy' after all," I said, waving at the Talravin. Bastila glared at me but I didn't return her look. It served her right.

Master Dorak sighed though his eyes never really met mine. He probably thought I was an idiot...he was a Jedi after all. They thought everyone were idiots.

"No. No we cannot."

Pff...well then...

"Okay...so you three go on and do your secretive Jedi stuff or whatever. I'll be wherever the food is," I said, limping casually past Bastila.

All of the Jedi's eyes followed me, I could just feel the disgust rolling off of them like herder stake and fry grease...

Yeah...I was _really _hungry. I better stop before I found myself delectable.

Before I could completely leave however, Dorak waved to a protocol droid.

"Direct our friends to the mess hall. There should still be some food left for them."

The droid responded with an affirmative then staggered past me. I gave this Dorak a look before nodding a thanks. Because...I probably would have gotten myself lost in this place.

Zaalbar was energetic at the mention of food along with Liam and Carth who looked just as starved as I was. The enclave was surrounded by metal walls, the gardens overflowing with flowers. A few small children walked by us, giving Liam a look that he returned with shyness. The Jedi of this academy looked to be of the younger sort, a few teenagers and young adults giving the strangers curious looks. We definitely looked a _little _out of place.

When we got to the mess hall, which was mostly empty yet full of cleaning droids, Zaalbar pigged out while I warned him to leave at least some for us. Fortunately, he wasn't that selfish, leaving at least half of what was left over.

I sat beside Carth who snacked on very little food compared to me, my entire stock tray filled with fruit and vegetables...no meat unfortunately. I'm pretty sure all of that would've been cold by now anyway.

At least the fruit here was very crisp and filling. At this point I didn't even care what food tasted like. The gamorreans could have fed me rancor crap and I wouldn't have even minded. I was that compliant under an empty stomach.

Onasi sighed, leaning forward in the bench. I picked out a few fruits for the kid and handed them to him. Liam chewed softly and stared off into space.

I slouched, eyeing the darkened wall covered with the glow of the sunset.

"I wonder what they're talking about," I mumbled, taking a bite of my apple.

"I don't know but I don't like it. What do they have to hide?"

I shrugged. "Plenty. If everyone knew how Battle Meditation worked then the Sith could probably learn how to block it."

"They probably _aren't_ talking about that."

Well...that was probably true as well. No one really knew what Jedi liked to meditate about anyway. The group was mysterious and aloof for a reason after all: to avoid their ever feared dark side.

I suddenly grew worried as I finished my fruit, throwing the core onto the tray. I was going to leave Dantooine as soon as my leg healed...the twi'lek and wookie might follow me but Bastila and Carth? I wasn't so sure still. But I was certain that that the mandalorian would leave us normal people as soon as possible. He had some slaughtering to do after all.

We finished our dinner under the hour and before I could ask the droid where we could rest for the night, I was stopped by Carth again.

"Where will you be heading after this?" he asked me. "The Republic is still in need for soldiers so if you want to..."

I was genially surprised. The commander actually cared about what happened to me? I laughed, eyeing the wookie who was still eating like a cleaning droid.

"Probably _not_. Sorry, but I was forced to become a soldier. I live on the Outer Rim not in one of your army ships."

Carth sighed. "I knew you would say that..."

I eyed him back. "So where will you be heading off to? Back to the army?"

"I'm stuck here until the Sith clear the Outer Rim. I really don't want to be caught by them. Until then I'll be contacting the fleet to inform them about the details of Taris."

I nodded my head and we were left standing there in awkward silence. There really wasn't much to say around the pilot. We had nothing in common.

Liam finally jumped up from his seat and gave me a proud look. He probably hasn't eaten this well before in his life...just the thought made me bitter with anger and I wished that I could kill Brejik _again_ for what he did.

"And what about these Jedi then?" Carth asked. "Those two were giving you strange looks when we exited the Hawk. You think they want you for something?"

I walked up to the droid, turning my head towards Carth. I smirked.

"If they want something from me then they'll be sorely disappointed. I getting as far away from these people as soon as possible."

The soldier narrowed his eyes. "But _why_ would they want you? What is this all about?"

I groaned, ordering the droid to take us to our quarters.

"You think I wouldn't tell you if I already knew the answer to that?"

Carth gave me a look.

"Yes. I am betting that you wouldn't tell me. You've proven to hide secrets from me before."

The droid bowed its head stiffly and began to lead us through the darkening enclave. Liam followed me closely, the wookie behind us still eating. How much could that stomach hold anyway?

"I guess that's true...in that case I just won't tell you Carth. Sorry, but why would I if I can't even trust you to begin with?"

I heard the pilot's footfalls stop so I turned around to face him. Liam bumped into me, turning around to look at the soldier with me. Onasi was red with anger, not a good sign.

"What are you talking about?" he whispered forcefully.

I frowned towards him, placing my free hand in my red jacket pocket.

"That whole excuse...about not trusting Saul? I don't believe it. I've seen a play like this. I was a con before after all, you can't fool me. You make it so everyone pity you then blame others when things seem off. You are pointing fingers at everyone _besides_ yourself. That only leads me to believe that I can't trust you."

He took a dangerous step forward into my space.

"Me?" he half-shrieked. "How could you not trust _me_? I'm a damn fighter for the Republic!"

I shrugged, turning around. "So was Revan and Malak. And Saul. And most of the Sith fleet actually. You have to do better than that, _soldier_."

The pilot blubbered, stammering over his own words.

"What-but-_Saul_ destroyed Telos! Malak killed everyone on Taris! I haven't done anything to-"

"Anything that we don't know about. For all I know you could be a spy for the Sith. It's been done before. So, why should I confine secrets to you when I can't even trust you?"

He shook his head.

"You. Are. _Insane_."

I began walking away, the small boy not following me for once.

I smirked. I've won. I like winning.

"Don't like being accused of crimes you haven't committed, do you Onasi?" I snorted. "That only proves how hypocritical you really are."

I followed the droid once again with my crutch, limping after it. I hoped that Onasi liked the taste of his own medicine. I could be a paranoid insane bastard like him if I wanted to, it was easy to find all the holes.

The sun had finally set, the moons above Dantooine covering half of the sky. There were dark clouds in the distance. A coming storm most likely. The bugs were going crazy with their croaks and yawns, so much so that I doubted that I could hear an explosion in the rooms next to me.

That and I was tired. Oh so very tired.

So tired that I didn't notice where I was going, bumping into a Jedi walking in the opposite direction I was. She was with another Jedi, a cathar who stood beside the older one that I ran into, peering towards me curiously. The older Jedi was glaring at me with crossed arms.

"What are you doing? Are you a Jedi or are you not?" She grabbed a fistful of my jacket before glaring up into my eyes. "Why are you not wearing your Jedi robes, Padawan?"

I looked away, shoving her hand away from me, wincing at my injured leg.

"Get off me..." I said. "And I'm not a Jedi _or _a Padawan. That's why."

This white haired woman blinked once, confused briefly before her eyes widened and she took a full step backward and away from me, stunned. I suddenly became a kinrath spider of some sort that she wanted to avoid and the cathar beside this Jedi raised her eyebrows at her.

"Master Quatra...is there something wrong?" this cathar asked.

This Quatra began to walk quickly past me as if nothing had happened. I scratched my head, looking just as confused as this cathar was. The younger Jedi bowed a quick apology at me before she followed her master with cat like steps.

The droid was waiting patiently for me while I had that exchange and began to walk towards the dorms when I resumed to walk. That Jedi was so..._weird. _Why did she look at me as if I had...wronged her once before?

When we finally got the dorms, I sighed inwardly with relief. I nodded to the machine once then opened the door, relieved to see the bed no matter how uncomfortable it looked. The door behind me shut and I didn't even bother taking off my jacket as I collapsed face down onto the hard mattress, throwing my crutch to the side.

Sleep, stress, and fatigue easily took me as if it being awake had all been an act.

**W**

_"I guess this is goodbye then."_

_I was standing at the Dantooine port, a beautiful woman smiling sadly at me. I smiled back humbly, shaking my head and walking towards her._

_"You'll pass you trials soon. You're strong in the Force. I'm sure-"_

_"Oh just shut up you. This is your day! Youngest Jedi to become a Knight, can't say that I'm not surprised by that."_

_The shuttle beside me was glowing with energy and I could feel space just waiting for me to come to it. I looked up into Dantooine's evening sky, that sad smile still tugging on my face. It felt rather bittersweet this...like I would never see her again._

_I felt a light punch on my shoulder. "Don't look so sad. You still have _him_ around after all. Not like that is a good thing really."_

_I laughed once before I stared up into the woman's eyes. _

_"Oh come on...Squint's not that-"_

I was forced awake, something shaking me quickly at the shoulder. My eyes were heavy when I opened them, wishing myself back to sleep. I was actually having a nice dream for once...even though I forgot what it had been about because of the intrusive person here.

I groaned, shoving the hand off of my shoulder.

"Go away..." I muttered like a spoiled teenager.

"Get up you lazy bantha."

I rotated my head an inch only to spot Bastila hovering over me. I jumped up, looking out the window and frowned at the pounding rain outside. Though...it was still in the middle of the night. What did she want? I was trying to sleep!

"What time is it?" I asked, slurred. I sounded like I was drunk...that's how tired I was.

Bastila frowned. "It's 2100."

Only _2100_? That was so early...When did I fall asleep?

I rubbed my eyes, glaring at the Jedi. She looked half soaked from the rain outside, her hair sticking to her face and overall looked miserable. How did she get in here? Didn't she know how rude it was not to knock before climbing into someone's room like a thief or kidnapper? These Jedi had to have at least known the proper courtesies. Even I knew them.

I decided to lay back down only for the Jedi to grow even more annoyed, her huffing a prime clue.

"The Council has requested your presence at this time. This is an honor that few are ever given. Now...get _up_."

I was shoved again but it wasn't needed since what Bastila had said caused me to shoot up, wide awake. The Jedi _Council _wanted to see me?

Why did this feel like a trap? First Bastila mentions that I should see the Council because of my Force powers or whatever and now they were demanding to see me? And why couldn't this wait until the morning?

I narrowed my eyes. "What do they want me for?"

She sighed, shaking her head. "You don't know? I told the Council about your strong affinity with the Force. They want to see if what I said was true."

Shit. I didn't want to see these damn Jedi. But...Bastila sounded like this was urgent and I didn't want her to get in trouble with her Council...

And I was awake now anyway. I couldn't go back to sleep knowing the Jedi Council had something to say to me. I sat up, sighing deeply, fixing my jacket.

"_Fine_. This better be good."

Bastila sighed. "It'll be more than worth your while."

I stood up shakily, grabbing my crutch and limping after Bastila. I glared at the droid that probably betrayed my location but since it was a droid it didn't care.

When we stepped out of the dorms, the rain pounded onto us. Bastila got herself a new Jedi robe so she was able to put her hood up yet I was left to the cold briny weather of Dantooine. If only I had remembered to bring an umbrella...

There were no Jedi around and I didn't see Carth or Liam - even the wookie - anywhere. Those lucky devils got to sleep while I had to struggle with lethargy and the cold rain while listening to these boring Jedi talk.

I sighed. "And this couldn't wait till morning? At all?" I asked.

The Jedi shook her head.

"The Council has debated for a while and they won't make a decision until they've seen you for themselves."

I raised my eyebrows. "Debated? Over _what_?" I asked.

She strangely remained silent at that, the rain pattering my reply. I grew nervous. This was a trap. I could see it a mile away. And it didn't help that they were taking advantage of my tired state of mind.

We finally got to what looked like a large meeting room. I squeezed out the rain from my poor jacket, shaking my hair of water. The rain had the sound of a roaring crowd inside the Jedi Temple, the surrounding windows crying.

Four Jedi sat in chairs, most of which were empty, gazing towards us patiently. Bastila led me inside the room and stood beside me. I wished that they had offered us seats as well but I don't think I would have taken the offer, even with my bad leg.

The Jedi Council was observing me like I was a rare species from Kashyyyk, the twi'lek eyeing me especially.

"So, you are what Bastila was speaking about. I am Master Zhar," the twi'lek said. "With me are Master Vrook, Master Vandar, and the Chronicler of our Academy, Master Dorak."

I looked at each of them respectively before I glared at Bastila, stepping closer to her so that I could whisper directly into her ear.

"So, you've drawn me into your little trap, Bastila. What do you have to say about that?"

She glared back before shaking her head, seething. "You are in front of the Council. Behave yourself."

I huffed, stepping forward and away from her, giving this twi'lek Zhar an eye.

"I thought the Council was on Coruscant. Where is everyone else?"

This Master Vrook, an old man that had a frown ever imprinted on his face and forehead, leaned in to better glare at me.

"Maybe we were too quick to judge. He obviously isn't suited for Jedi training," he said.

Thanks for ignoring my question _pal_.

And wait..._Jedi training_?

Master Zhar sighed, leaning back and studied me. "I don't know, Bastila has told us seems to be true. He appears to be strong in the Force. Should we even risk letting him go?"

I almost choked on myself, peering closer at the twi'lek master.

"Strong in the Force? What are you talking about_?_"

And here I thought the Force was just working through me. I gave Bastila an eye over my shoulder but she didn't bother to meet my gaze. Instead I eyed the Masters suspiciously. This Vrook - the one who looked grouchy - narrowed his eyes at the twi'lek.

"You speak out of turn, Master Zhar." He returned his forever glare at me. "We do not think you are strong in the Force at all. In fact, that is why you are here right now. So that we can test to see if you truly are Force sensitive."

I noticed Bastila's confusion as she crossed her arms. I was not looking forward to this test - whatever it was.

The imp that I met before - Master Vandar - nodded his head.

"I suppose that it is only natural for there to be doubts, Master Vrook."

Bastila narrowed her own eyes. "Doubts? Why would there be _any_?" she asked. She waved her hand at me, something people liked to do now I guess. "The Force is strong in him. I've told you about what happened on Taris. He's used to Force already, the swoop bike race among others. It's obvious. There is no need for a test."

Finally, Master Dorak eyed me with his opinion. "He does seem strong in the Force. But how strong...that is what I want to know."

Vrook pursed his old lips, leaning forward to give the Chronicler a look. "Not strong enough and he will never be strong enough. We made sure-"

"Not now, Master Vrook," Vandar interrupted. "You can't just deny that he doesn't have the ability though."

I coughed a few times, shuffling my one good leg. The entire room of people stared at me when that cough reverberated around the room, mixing with the rain patters.

"I'm standing right here you know..."

Vrook pahed like an old man, sitting back, waving a hand at me.

"Look, he already displays arrogance. And you expect to actually _train_ him in the ways of the Force?"

I'm so glad these Jedi had so much faith in me...and how was that _arrogant_? Them ignoring me was more arrogant then anything! These Jedi...they were all the same...

He turned his attention to me. "Perhaps it was simple luck."

You know...that was exactly what I was hoping to be true before. But now that I think about it...were all of those happenings simple coincidences? The Sith guard, the lightsaber, the race, the dark Jedi battle...the longer I thought that it was all just my dumb luck the more I thought that was just unpractical.

Zhar shook his head, his lekku bouncing. "You know that there is no such thing as luck. There is only the Force."

Vrook looked back at the other Jedi Master. "Even so, I feel as if we decided to train this one he would eventually fall. It is hard to train a child, why should we even attempt to train an adult?"

I smirked tersely, leaning more on my crutch. They had so much faith in me, didn't they? Was it because I used to be a smuggler or something?

"Look...I'm not quite sure I heard right about this whole 'training to be a Jedi' thing. Maybe ask my opinion first before-"

Master Vandar interrupted me. "We have no choice, Master Lamar. With each passing day Malak and the Sith grow in strength. Eventually they will overpower us with sheer numbers. And with Revan dead..."

Vrook sat up violently. "Who is to say that Revan is truly dead? What if he wakes up one day and-"

Vandar stood up from his seat quickly in order to grab this Vrook's attention, his big eyes filled with...regret? I really had no idea what they were talking about, after all they were having this discussion as if I didn't exist. Talking around the subject of your argument really didn't help to solve the problem. Nor was it democratic...

Vrook stopped running his mouth, eyeing the imp.

"There won't be another Revan. Not again. We will discuss this later, Master Vrook. For now..." He eyed me carefully. "Your name is Wesley Gale, is that correct?"

I could feel myself growing red when he called me the longer version of my name. Though...at least they were finally speaking to me directly.

"I'd be happy with just _Wes_, Jedi Master," I said. "If you wouldn't mind..."

Vrook huffed out of earshot though I heard him and moved my eyes to glare back at him. I wondered why I took such great offense to him. Was he like that for everyone or was it just me?

Vandar nodded his small head, waddling towards me. I eyed him curiously before he suddenly held out his hand...and took my crutch. I wavered, suddenly off balance and sneered in pain, glaring at the imp.

"What the-!"

I was shaking...but I didn't fall. My leg hurt of course but I still had the balance to keep myself upright. I wasn't sure if that was normal...wouldn't the crushing pain cause me to simply tumble down onto the ground?

Vandar smiled at me. "You really don't need this, do you?" He placed the crutch down onto the floor, crossing his tiny arms. "The Force can suppress pain if used correctly. For you though...it seems to come and go like strong winds. Like holes in the Force itself." He turned around to eye Vrook. "Eventually those winds will tear down the galaxy if not properly controlled. Do you think we could risk that?"

Yeah...but it still hurts damn it. If you wanted to use me as an example then tell me before you go ripping my crutch away. Could he please give me that back? I really felt like falling down without any support...

Finally, Master Dorak spoke. "I feel as if we need more time to think about this...strange phenomenon."

"I agree. Tomorrow we will discuss this further...and decide what to do with the information we have been given," Vandar replied.

The imp lifted the crutch with the Force again and handed it back delicately, smiling earnestly at me. It was...sort of hard not to smile back at him. Despite their aloof natures, they really weren't all that bad...right? At least that was what the positive side of my mind was trying to convince me.

Bastila bowed deeply. "We will sleep this off for now, Masters," she said. I simply nodded, since bowing to these people would be rather awkward, limping away from the four masters. Strangely I could still feel their eyes on me even after I left the room and into the foyer. I was largely uncomfortable by that.

She was waiting for me by the door with crossed arms. When she saw that I was following, I held out a hand.

"Wait just a second."

She turned, the door open, the rain pattering hard. Lightning flashed in the distant night, illuminating her figure. I stared at her for a few seconds before continuing. "You really think that I would agree to this? Becoming a _Jedi_?"

She sighed, turning to look out into the rain. "The Council hasn't even decided whether or not they should train you yet."

I snorted. "That doesn't matter. What matters is the intent." I limped closer to her, close enough to see the detail in her calm grey eyes. "Do I even get a say in this? I have heard a lot about what the Jedi Council wants to do with me but not once have they asked what I wanted to do." I peered closer. "How is that even right?"

Bastila pursed her lips, her eyes looking away from mine to look out into the rain again. "That is-the Jedi Council is wiser then I am. What I say-"

"Oh just cut out that crap. I want to know _your _opinion, damn it. Not the Council's." I looked out into the rain myself. "I could walk out the next day if I wanted to, take the Ebon Hawk, and go off to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. Anything to avoid-"

She took a side glance at me.

"And you're not?"

My mouth hung open, stunned.

"What are you-?"

"If you wanted to leave, you could have done so already."

I snorted. "That was _before_ I realized that your damn Council wanted to make me a Jedi."

She frowned. "Is it really?" she asked. "What the Council said is true. You have a great command of the Force. So great that without proper control it is dangerous. If you become a Jedi then you will have nothing to fear. You will be protected by what is to come."

I narrowed my eyes. "What are you saying?"

"The Sith." She turned around fully, away from the rain. "If you think that the Jedi are the only ones who can sense you...then you're wrong. You will be an easy target to Malak and his dark Jedi without proper training."

That makes...sense. Why haven't I seen it like that before? No matter where I ran, they would find me if I couldn't control this power. I would be a sitting gizka, naively listening to the first Sith that strolls on by and be tortured, just like Carth once said, to their teachings. And I was no Sith. I wouldn't become one of those murderers. They were worse than mandalorians.

She took another step forward, closer to me. "You're afraid, I know. When I...well, I felt the same once as a child. Believe me, you don't need to be afraid of the Force. Or the Jedi. The Force has come to you for a reason. A reason that you shouldn't fear."

I felt myself growing pale, staring off into the rainy night. "Whoever said I was afraid?"

She stepped out into the rain and I had to follow her. Her response was muted so I had to tilt my head in order to hear her clearly.

"There was no need for you to say anything. I've felt it...through the Force."

And she continued walking, leaving me stunned behind her.

I stood there in the rain for an extra five minutes wondering how the hell she was able to read my emotions that clearly as if a was an unlocked datapad .

Because she was completely right.

I _was _afraid.

Who woudn't really? An unknown power manifests itself out of no where for no reason whatsoever and I'm just expected to go along with it like it was nothing? That was why I was angry with the Council, they were treating me as if I had been born a Jedi, born to not fear whatever power was within me. They just seemed to callously disregard my own emotions regarding this.

Probably because they preached about having a lack of them in their little code.

Still amazed by Shan's accuracy, I somehow returned to my dorm without getting lost, squeezing the rain out of my clothes again. My bed, unfortunately, was not as comfortable as it had been before.

Bastila was able to see right through me. _Again. _I was getting tired of it. So tired that I began to drift off to sleep.

I soon realized _why_ she was able to read my emotions so clearly.

And it was not good.

Not good at all.


	13. A Bond

**Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic**

* * *

**Strong Winds**

* * *

**Chapter Twelve**

It had taken a day to finally find the ruins.

The rain pounded on both of the figures, each one looking down into the muddy ground. They were fuzzy figures, each holding a dark aura in their hearts. The edges of what I saw were lined with cracks as if I was trying to break through a shell.

One of the figures, the bald tattooed man, frowned at the other. He held his hips, fear etched all over his face as he stared at the ruins they had searched for. And I could tell that he was surprised they had actually found them.

The other figure was dark, a mandalorian red mask whose gaze was unknown however I could tell that he was looking at the door with fear as well. A familiar fear that I have felt once before.

The other man frowned at the door, shaking his head. "This is not a good idea. I can already sense the dark side of the Force. What if we find something that we aren't meant to find, Revan?"

_Revan_? Ah...yes now I remember. Revan had a mask, from what I remember from the few holovids I watched, and Malak had those tattoos for some odd reason. Probably because of his strange taste in fashion.

I was dreaming about Revan and Malak?

Why would I be dreaming about _them_?

Revan opened the ancient door anyway, peering inside tenderly before walking out of the rain. I followed, not out of my own will however. It was as if...I was in someone else's body. A body that wasn't my own.

Malak followed his Master who turned his head to look at him. "If we were not meant to be here then we wouldn't have learned about this in the first place now, would we?" Revan responded, his voice distorted with the mask and the dream like scape I was in. .

"Still...are you sure this is worth the risk?"

Revan stopped walking as he studied the inside of the ruins. They were dark, no lights were inside and the grey clouds outside did very little to help me see. I could hear the mask's distortion jitter.

"I would risk anything if it's to win this war with as little casualties as possible, Alek. And if we can find this...this _Star Forge _then nothing will stop us."

"But we were told as padawans a long time ago to beware the Sith... It's forbidd-"

I could hear Revan chuckle in his mask, a deep troubled laugh that didn't sound humorous in the slightest. "Are you afraid of Sith ghosts meant to scare younglings, Alek? Come _on_. We've already defied the Council. Why should we stop there?"

"_Revan_."

But the Dark Lord didn't listen to Malak as he opened the next door. I blinked once and quick moments seemed to flicker in my mind. Blue Jedi lightsabers blazing, destroying ancient droids. Then they were at the final door, Malak holding his head as Revan paced quickly with anxiety. At least...that's what I thought it was. I wasn't sure that dark Jedi would fear anything to begin with never mind these ruins.

And yet...there he was pacing around like a fool.

Like me...

I blinked when my eyesight turned red and I looked up to see Darth Malak eyeing the door with disdain.

"Once we go through this door...we can never go back."

_I stopped pacing, hovering over the door before using the Force to undo the locks that prevented non-Force Sensitives from coming through. It slid open slowly and I turned to face Alek's horrified face. _

_"You actually think the Council would forgive us? _Ever?_" I walked forward, eyeing the mysterious beyond. "No one is holding the door open for us anymore, Alek. _No one_. Which is why I have to win this war with _anything_. Even...even if..._"

The dark stone pillar opened and calm blue lights shimmered and reflected off the ancient stones. The light was so brilliant that I turned away from it...and stared deeply into grey eyes.

My own eyes widened in confusion as I saw Bastila-_What is she doing here_?-standing behind the opened door, eyeing me with awe.

"Basti-?"

**W**

I breathed in deeply, my body covered in both sweat and rain water. The first thing I noticed was...that I was being rained on. The second...I was not in my own bed. I twisted and turned around, confused beyond anything. I was still in the Enclave, standing in a rained on flowerbed, my head pounding.

I grew lightheaded and fell in the garden, smushing someone's poor tulips. I would have to apologize to that person as soon as my head grew right first. The rain became so loud and heavy that it began to feel like someone was slapping me over and over again.

What was I, hungover? I wasn't really that disturbed over a nightmare, was I?

_A nightmare_...

I shot back up, growing extremely pale. I limped through the garden, forgetting my earlier promise, and headed towards the mess hall. A few other Jedi were giving me strange looks as I passed, probably due to the fact that I looked like a homeless slob.

_Where was Bastila? _

I felt her in that dream...as if she was actually standing right _there_. How was that even possible? How far would she go to invade my personal space? And out of all the things I _could _have dreamed of - hot twi'lek dancers, another massage, or maybe even Deralia... - I had to dream about Revan. _Again_. What would psychologists from Coruscant say about me? Probably that I was insane and had to be locked up in a mental institute. Or that I had some deep seated desires to kiss a hutt while parading around in a tramp suit.

And yet...I had a dream about Bastila as couldn't I stop dreaming about _her_?

...And no, I meant that literally not figuratively.

The mess hall was full of Jedi, each getting breakfast and talking mildly to their peers. I stomped over towards the food line like the insane man that I was and grabbed a bite to eat as if that could deny what just happened to me.

Okay...maybe Bastila was right. Maybe the _Jedi Council _was right. Without training I was going to go _insane_. If these dreams were Force residue...then I had to learn how to control them. At least for some peace of mind.

I bumped into someone as I went to leave and that someone happened to be Mission.

"Wessy! Um...good morning. You look like...well... Really _unwell_."

I shook my head a few times, taking a quick bite of the Dantooine pear I swiped.

"I'm _fine_. Fine and _dandy_. Why wouldn't I be?"

The twi'lek frowned but I didn't bother giving her the chance to respond as I stormed out of the mess hall again, intent on finding Bastila. She was going to give me damn answers about these dreams...even if they were just nightmares.

Strangely my leg was numb, as if I wasn't pained at all by it anymore. I still haven't checked myself into the medbay here and wouldn't until I got answers. And Vandar was right...I didn't need my crutch. I was walking around just fine...

The rain was actually light, my mind must have made it seem louder than it was. I began to walk towards the other dorm rooms in search of the Jedi before someone called out to me. I turned quickly...and Carth jogged up with a raised hand.

He hesitated when he saw me, scratching his head.

"First Bastila and now you...you look like something happened. Are you alright?"

I snorted. Why would he care? And was that any of his business? I began to walk again but he stopped me with an extend hand on my shoulder. "Wait a sec...where is your crutch?"

I brushed him away.

"In my room. Where else?" I responded.

I went to walk around him but he stopped me again.

"Wait, just..._hold on_. Bastila told me to find you as soon as you woke up...and tell you that the Council wants to see you. Immediately. She said that it was urgent."

I groaned, before nodding my head. If I had to go see the damn Council again...it was better than living with these questions in my head all day, running around like a lunatic.

Although...I definitely wasn't up to date with my hygiene. I stunk like a gamorrean hog that bathed in warm mud in Tatooine. They already thought I was a fool...what would they think if they saw me like this?

To be honest...I think they deserved seeing me like this. After all...this was probably their fault, might as well make them feel guilty for dragging me around like a kath hound on a collar.

The soldier was giving me a confused look. "Why would they want to see you?"

I ignored that question, stomping past Carth and headed towards the Council chambers. He called out to me as I left but I continued onward anyway. I knew the twist and turns that led me to the Chambers from what I remembered from last night surprisingly. It was as if I already had this place memorized on the back of my hand...Did I have this great of pictorial memory before? Probably.

I shrugged, dripping onto the concrete floors of the foyer, trudging into the Council chambers. The four Masters were sitting foreward, holographic figures peering at the Jedi that was before them.

Oh, _great_, so they were calling the rest of the Council today out of all days. And I hadn't even taken a shower or changed into different clothes. As if my day hasn't been bad enough.

Bastila was talking when I stormed in and the other Council Masters didn't notice me.

"-and Revan. He was in the dream with me. It was-"

She paused in horror as I limped up beside her, standing up from her kneeling position on the ground. The other Master Jedi that I didn't get the chance to meet before all narrowed their eyes when I stepped beside the Battle Meditator, finally seeing me join the little party they decided to start without me.

A pale lady in the holoimage snorted, rolling her eyes. "Speaking of the devil."

Vandar placated the woman...an echani maybe?...with a small hand.

"Enough, Atris. We've discussed this before," the small creature said.

The white haired woman huffed again, crossing her arms. Besides Atris, there were four other Jedi making the total number of Jedi Council members present at nine. If I remember correctly...shouldn't there be twelve members? What happened to the other three?

I crossed my own arms and they squeezed embarrassingly from the rain. I was still sopping wet from the outside forces of the planet and was shivering cold, my hair sticking to my face like Bastila's had. Force damn...why me? Why couldn't this have happened on a better day? Or maybe to someone _else_?

Master Zhar gave me a look, sitting up in his uncomfortable looking chair.

"There has been a most...unusual development. Bastila has claimed that both you and she shared a dream. A vision of the two Sith Lords Revan and Malak here on Dantooine, scouring the ruins in search of something."

The holoimage of a bald man with an..._interesting_ mustache flickered as he sat back in whatever seat he sat in Coruscant, holding his chin.

"I don't know why they would want to visit Dantooine or explore the ruins there. Did this happen during the Mandalorian Wars? If so, was this the cause of their fall or was it something...else?"

Vrook snorted, shaking his own head. "Nothing except their own arrogance and pride was the cause of their fall to the dark side, Zez-Kai."

"Of course Vrook...though I've been starting to wonder if we were wrong about this. The Exile...she-"

Vandar tapped a cane that he had, quieting the Council like a gavel.

"We are here to discuss what happened in these two young ones' dream and why they shared such a dream to begin with. We were not called together to dwell in the past for that will lead us nowhere."

This was when I shook my head, raising my voice, waving a hand.

"Alright, _alright_! Hold up." Everyone turned to stare at me and I hesitated when the entire Council suddenly buried their eyes into me. Wow...didn't know that I would grab everyone's attention so easily...I continued. "Am I the only one lost here? How the _hell_ did Bastila climb into my dreams? I actually _enjoy _my own privacy, thank you very much. Sorry if that's a little too much for me to ask."

The Jedi narrowed her eyes at me. "_Your_ dreams?"

I smirked at her, shrugging. "Who else's?"

She grew red in anger along with the rest of the Council and before she could retort an old woman who looked respected and honored, even among these bigots, spoke up.

"I understand why you are confused, young one. It is expected after all - you know next to nothing of the Force. The reason why both you and Bastila have shared a dream is clear. A bond has forged between the both of you."

The echani, Atris, sat back astounded. "You don't know what you're saying, Master Nomi. A Force bond-"

"-takes years to forge, I know...I think everyone here knows."

Except for me. I'm still here. _Hello_?

Nomi continued. "The Force seems to be acting through you as it is Bastila, giving you these visions. This is...not normal."

Coming from a Jedi...those words did not convince me that these dreams were a good thing. And there is the whole "Force working through me" thing again? Would these Jedi at least compromise with the story they tell before they tell it?

I sighed deeply, holding my head. "So, I'm having visions now, is that it? Of course that's not normal, damn it."

Another Jedi, younger but very simular looking to Nomi sat up, glaring at me.

"I do not like his tone of voice. Has he already begun his path to the dark side?" she asked though that stare told me that she wasn't going to ever ask me directly. I frowned when she mentioned the dark side which inherently mentioned the Sith. And I was not like _them_. My caustic remarks notwithstanding. It was all done in jest after all. Don't tell me...that these people didn't know how to take a joke?

Why am I _not_ surprised?

Vandar shook his head, staring down at me. "No, of course not Master Vima. Anyone not trained in the ways of the Jedi would act as such. Let us not place doubt on someone who is ignorant of our ways."

I smiled tightly at the imp, feeling better about this whole Council. At least this Vandar was understanding.

The final unknown Jedi sighed, leaning on her knees tiredly. "We should still tread carefully. We know next to nothing of what he could possibly do."

I cocked an eyebrow. What was she talking about? Did this Council really not trust me? I don't know...but that just sounded really unfair to me.

"Look...I'm not going to do...whatever you think I'll do. Does that make you guys feel better?"

Most of them paused to stare at me so I looked away awkwardly. They really knew how to make people feel uncomfortable... At least stare back at me with a small bit of kindness. Isn't that what the Jedi were supposed to preach about?

Zhar shook his head, his own brow scrunching up. He looked just as stressed as I was.

"We know, Master Vash." He returned his attention to me. "A Force bond is sometimes formed between Master and pupil but rarely does one form so quickly between almost complete strangers."

That did sound a bit off. If these bonds took years to create then why was the Force suddenly manifesting itself within _me_? I knew close to nothing about Bastila. I couldn't tell them how old she was or what her favorite food or hobby was...if that's they type of relationship they were talking about. I really doubted Bastila and I were even friends yet nevermind shared a special "bond."

Vandar sighed, shaking his small head. "Whatever dangers you may face in the near future, the Force has called to both of you. What you will face...you may have to face together."

I narrowed my eyes in question, leaning back to take the pain away from my leg.

"What are you even talking about?"

The mustache man, Zez-Kai, leaned forward, the holo flickering again.

"What Master Vandar is saying is that this bond was forged in order to stop the coming darkness of Malak's Sith army. Together you just might be able to stop the collapse of the Republic itself."

Wow...way to put the fate of the galaxy on my shoulders. Cause...you know, I have nothing better to do with my life then risking my neck in this Sith war. How could _I_ help defeat Malak? I would have to be an idiot to think that only the two of us could defeat the Sith...no matter how much I smirked at the thought.

I don't know why...but the sound of saving the galaxy just brought a smile to my face. To become a hero, just like in my childhood dreams.

Vrook narrowed his eyes. "But don't be tempted by your obvious lusts for glory and power. That can only lead to the dark side."

Whoever said that I _wanted _power and glory? And there was that warning again, did they think I was deaf or something? I heard them about the damn dark side the first time... I'm not stupid.

Master Dorak, who had been mostly silent during this discussion, finally sat up.

"And there is still the question. Should we even train him in the ways of the Force to begin with?"

Nomi smiled sadly towards the old man. "I don't think we have much of a choice anymore, Master Dorak. His fate is tied to Bastila's now. The only safe path available without hurting her as well would be to train him. If you want to put it to a vote, then put it to a vote. I would find that a waste of our time however."

Vandar nodded his head, looking downcast at me. "I agree. We have no other choice."

And all of the Council members agreed until both Atris and Vrook remained, still unconvinced. As they all gradually agreed I could just feel my very world collapsing around me. Since...I knew I had no other choice but to listen to them.

Me, Wes Gale, ex-smuggler, who by all means used to think Jedi were pussy space harlots that liked to meditate like droids, was being forced to join the Order.

Joining the Jedi was a lifetime agreement. A lifetime that I wasn't sure I just wanted to throw away.

Now I know why I was so afraid. I was afraid of changing. The stable life I had led so far, forgetting all the wars and political strife that happened around me in a cantina drunk, wouldn't be possible anymore.

I had to face my problems head on. I couldn't take the cowards way out anymore.

Finally, after Nomi Sunrider took a few minutes to convince the echani, Atris agreed to my training. Which only left Vrook Lamar.

He glared down at me. "Learning the ways of the Jedi will be long and difficult. Do you think you even have the patience?"

I narrowed my eyes back at him. I can feel myself shaking slightly from what I hope wasn't fear. I swallowed deeply, looking down.

"I don't know...if I even _want_-"

Vima Sunrider interrupted me, her holoimage flickering. "You have little choice in the matter. Your bond with Bastila has forced our decision. Without proper training you will fall, taking Bastila Shan with you. We cannot allow this to happen."

That didn't mean I had to like it. Or listen to these Jedi for that matter. I rubbed my face again. Bastila was still beside me, looking towards me with old worried grey eyes.

Becoming a Jedi would be the only way to save myself. And Bastila.

So, I nodded my head, my mouth feeling bitter at throwing the life that I had known away like it was nothing. I had nothing left anyway - not even credits.

"Since I have no choice...I'll do it."

Vandar nodded. "Then we will send both you and Bastila to those ruins...once we have deemed you ready."

I frowned, crossing my arms. "And we can't just go now? I doubt Malak is just going to wait around for us to swoop in and save the day if we just sit in here twiddling our thumbs."

I could see Atris sneering past the blue of the holoimage, shaking her head.

"Lamar was right. There is no hope for him."

"No, Atris, it is a sensible question," Nomi replied. She gazed levelly at me. "The ancient ruins will most likely be drowned in dark side energies. Without the proper protection you will not be able to avoid the darkness within yourself."

Vandar nodded. "...within all of us," he added.

Well...that plan definitely fell short. And without their directions I wouldn't be able to find those ruins anyway. So, I was stuck here in this Enclave.

Most of the holoimaged Council members finally took their leave once the decision was made, until only Nomi and Atris were left.

The echani took one final glare at me. "If you fall...then I will kill you myself, Jedi Code or not."

She flickered away with that lovely final statement. She really must have serious social issues. What did I ever do to her? Or Vrook? All I did was stand here and say a few words. Was that a crime now?

Nomi Sunrider stood up. "I will leave who trains him up to you four."

Zhar stood up, bowing towards the Jedi Master. "I wish to train him myself. If only..." he paused before he shook his head, smiling serenely. "It would be my pleasure."

Nomi smiled. "I expect to be updated on his progress. For now, I will take my leave."

The holoimage shut off and the room suddenly grew quiet with only four Jedi Masters existing in the hall. I felt as if I had been holding in a breath for a long time, one that I finally released.

I was supposedly a Jedi now.

Damn it. Just...damn it all.

**W**

I was to start my lessons the next day.

I sat in the medbay, eyeing the Jedi healer who was frowning deeply at my leg. There were many fractures, she told me, and since they were Jedi and all healing broken bones wouldn't be an issue.

The healer replaced the kolto bandage with a new one and she sent me off once again. The entire time I hadn't said a word - not one. I was not happy about this, obviously. These Jedi talk about destinies and all that crap but what if I just didn't have a destiny. At all. I would be more happy with that.

I limped out, without a crutch, and decided to sit on the closest bench to stare out into the rain. The four master's ordered me to get checked up here but...they hadn't exactly told me what to do next. They were my guardians now after all. Have to listen to exactly what they tell me without going off script.

I sunk deeper into the bench, digging my hands inside my jacket pocket before taking out my lucky coin. An ancient penny - not a credit or anything like that. I still remember the day I got it...I was being transported around in a mandalorian freighter and I was able to stay sane because of this coin. It reminded me of what I once was...and what I soon became.

Even now it seems. I used to enjoy my work...but now I was stuck on that mando freighter again, being tugged around like a slave.

And only this coin remained. And would forever remain.

I tensed, shoving the coin into my pocket and quickly standing. A bad idea by all means, I was still injured after all despite my own body not realizing it.

I flinched in pain but only just as I limped towards the spaceport. The rain was letting up but only slightly, a few sprinkles hitting my nose. The young Jedi around me were giving me a strange eye, I assume that means the word has spread. The adult was training to become a Jedi. Something a _child_ should be doing. Go ahead and laugh.

I still don't understand why we just can't go to those ruins and get it over with. This dark side light side thing...was just dumb. Really, the galaxy wasn't all that black and white. But, the Jedi seemed convinced...and now I was supposed to be .

There were a few ships beside the Ebon Hawk preparing to lift off, some looked like civilian transporters from Coruscant. The Hawk took up the most space and most of the repair droids were swarming it.

A twi'lek stood beside our ship, shaking his head. Canderous was glaring at the alien, looking as if he was going to crack his neck at any time.

"What do you mean it'll cost _20,000_ credits to repair this, you ingrate?" he shouted.

I widened my eyes when I heard that figure. The twi'lek only tutted in response, looking away from his datapad. One of the repair droids floated up to him, handing him another datapad that he shook his head at as well.

"The Jedi aren't exactly great customers, _mandalorian_. With Czerka putting their little grubby fingers on anything that walks and with this Sith war how exactly am I going to earn a profit?" He sighed, shutting his datapad off. "You can just pay off this over time of course...I heard all about how this ship barely escaped Taris. Call it a...Jedi's empathy."

The mandalorian's face grew darker than it already was, grabbing the twi'lek by the collar, the droids around him panicking. He bent closer to the mechanic, the poor twi'lek shaking.

"And I call sparing your life a..._Jedi's_ empathy."

He dropped the man before he started to stomp towards me, the droids all relaxing once he did so. I raised an eyebrow in his direction as he came closer, crossing my arms.

"I'm surprised you're still here," I said, looking towards the Ebon Hawk. "I thought you were going to run off the next chance you got."

The mando gave me that evil smirk, walking past me. "Where would I go?"

I shrugged. "Where does any surviving mandalorian go but the Outer Rim, pillaging poor ships and astro mines?"

I began to follow Canderous and since I had no idea where he was going quickened my limping pace. He laughed darkly at me before he stopped, looking around.

"You must be talking about the Fetts. No other clan besides theirs would be so cowardly." He huffed once before facing me. "Where is the cantina?"

I shrugged again. "I don't think the Jedi like drinking. Emotions and all. You get them."

...even though I was a Jedi now. I really had to stop referring to what I was in third person. He cursed before turning on the path, heading towards the Enclave's exit. I hesitated to follow him again, tilting my head. "What are you even doing, by the way?" I asked.

The mando groaned. "I'm going to the nearest settlement and finding their cantina. I need a drink. Maybe even play a few rounds of Pazaak."

My ears perked up at the sound of the word. Now...that's what I'm talking about. A nice couple of drinks...a few rounds of Pazaak...all to melt the stress of this day away. I'm sure these Jedi wouldn't care if I had a little fun before becoming a complete bore, right?

Wrong.

Canderous was quicker than I was, due to my bad leg, so I wasn't surprised when the door closed behind him to go outside. What I was surprised was the sound of the door locking, the two sentry droids walking up to me with their drone like faces.

"The Council has ordered that you are to remain on the Enclave until further notice. Unless there is an emergency, we cannot let you through."

..._Are you fucking kidding me_? What was this, a prison? First it was The Endar Spire, then it was Taris, and now it's this Enclave? All I wanted was a drink! I wasn't going to go running off the planet!

They didn't trust me. These damn Jedi didn't trust me. Why didn't _anyone _- besides Mission and Liam - fucking trust me?

I growled. "Well...this _is_ an emergency. I want a kriffin drink you pieces of shit."

The droid on the left beeped. "I'm sorry...but a 'kriffin drink you pieces of shit' does not appear to be a viable danger"

Great, they were getting smart now.

I was so tempted to kick the droid's bolts out with my uninjured leg however I was stopped by a raised voice. I turned and sighed, spotting Bastila. As if this day couldn't get...oh, right I already said that before and it got worse.

She walked towards me, worry written all over her face as she saw my enraged expression. I was a prisoner here. Nothing has changed at all. I may be a Jedi now but I was still a smuggler at heart and these Jedi couldn't forget that, could they? Smugglers get imprisoned by the Republic. Since I'm a smuggler, I should be used to this.

I ignored the Jedi as I turned around and kicked the droid exactly where a human's balls would be. Unfortunately, I got a nasty shock in return and jumped.

"_Kriff_," I muttered.

Bastila smirked. "What did you expect would happen?" she asked.

I glared back at her and decided to limp away from the door, gaining her raised eyebrow. I knew that she would follow me so I continued until I got to the courtyard, the place swarming with padawans and younglings practicing with sabers and cortosis weave blades.

I pursed my lips as I stared out and observed the training, a few Masters were smiling at their padawans' achievements. This Zhar was going to be my Master tomorrow I guess. It sure didn't feel like it, I haven't really seen him at all outside of the Council meetings. Some Master he was.

I heard Bastila sigh. "Look, I know that you feel trapped here but it's-"

"-for my own good. _I know_. You don't trust me. That's alright. I'm used to it."

The Jedi appeared in front of me with a deep frown on her face, her arms crossed.

"T-That's not-"

"_Look_. I'm not offended. Really. In fact, it's an honor. The Jedi think I'm dangerous. After all, I'm the adult that suddenly gained Force powers _and_ bonded with one of their best students overnight. Oh, and we're dreaming about Sith Lords, can't forget that _minor _detail. Who _wouldn't _be afraid of me? Heck, I'm afraid of me. So, thanks for the clarification."

I began to walk away but was stopped by Bastila, a hand on my shoulder.

"Look...y-you're being too hard on yourself. The Force-"

"-works in mysterious ways. Know that one too. Still doesn't convince me that this whole bond thing is okay. I for one don't like you snooping around inside my dreams."

I tried to force myself forward but the Jedi didn't let me go and wouldn't unless I pushed, so I sighed, walking in the other direction.

But Bastila, of course, easily caught up to injured me. Damn it.

"You think that I _want _to be bonded with you?"

I paused, raising an eyebrow towards her. She continued, crossing her arms. "Believe me, I certainly don't find the prospect of being joined to you enjoyable in any fashion."

I sneered slowly before shaking my head. I have no idea why that stung when she said that...don't tell me I actually..._cared _about what she thought of me? Ha, how funny! I really need to get my brain checked before I became as mindless as Brejik.

I snorted.

"Well...thanks, thanks a lot..." waving a hand, leaving it at that.

I turned around again but before I left I was grabbed at the shoulder again. I went to shove it away however her hand remained as if she had glued herself to my shoulder and she came alongside me, her grey eyes glaring up at me.

She huffed.

"I didn't mean it like-well, you wouldn't believe me anyway. You obviously think I am here just to insult your intelligence. Go on, make your assumptions. I just am not...comfortable being connected to another person. As a Jedi...well...you know."

I raised my eyebrows, smirking. "Know what?"

She frowned.

"You know...I don't want to explain."

My cheeks were beginning to hurt.

"Go on..._explain._"

"What is there _to _explain? Now..._stop-_"

"You know...we could stand here all day and just _wait _until you tell me what you were going to say. And believe me. My leg can withstand the fiercest of storms for hours-"

A blinding pain erupted below my injured calf and I grunted, bending over it like it had just fallen off. Her foot returned to the ground after that hard kick and began to walk past me. Force damn.,.how _underhanded_-!

I glared up at her, wincing in pain.

"Now that was just...!"

But she just ignored me and walked away towards the mess hall, dinner just about to start. I think a few children were laughing and pointing at me the little brats. My face turned another shade of red. Force...fuck..._kriff_...this woman...is so..._unbelievable_. For her to have the _audacity_ to hurt an injured man...and then walk away without apologizing.

What sort of Jedi was she? She goes around...acting like a benevolent angel...then stabs little children in the middle of the night and tortures men, like me, for hours upon hours just for the _kicks_.

Get it?

Ugh...sorry. I mentally hit myself.

That was probably going a little bit too far but it was the same thing. The Jedi Council thought their little savior was as light sided as the stars but she unknowingly _hates_...well just me I guess. I haven't really seen her talk to anyone else but me and Carth ...but she's just arrogant around Carth, not _evil._ Not a good Jedi quality supposedly. Yeah, just go with it.

After enduring a minute of embarrassment, I stood up and painfully walked towards the exit again. I kicked one of the droids over and over despite knowing the consequences. And even after I was shocked to high heaven I still kicked.

By the time I was done, I had two injured legs...

You know, I'm so stupid at times. _Really_.

**W**

"You don't look so well, Wessy...you were muttering 'ow' every time you took a step when you walked in here," Mission observed, holding her chin. "Did something happen?"

Zaalbar growled a similar observation. "You look a little burnt..."

After muttering underneath my breath again, I sat at the mess hall table they were sitting at and released a held breath, snatching something off of Zaalbar's plate - getting a wookie glare in response. Carth was there too I think though...I didn't really bother to look at him. Past differences and all.

I sighed. "I was _burnt_ alright."

I saw Carth sit up in the corner of my eye and I looked up from my staring contest with the table.

"I heard from Bastila...that you're going to be trained as a Jedi. Is that true?" he asked. I pursed my lips and chose to look up at the lighting fixtures. One was flickering. Interesting.

Mission tugged on my sleeve. "_Really_? A _Jedi_?" she gasped. "I thought newly initiated Jedi were...younger though."

I narrowed my eyes at that light fixture.

"Whatever she said is true...unfortunately," I said.

The pilot snorted. "So...that was why you were placed on the Endar Spire. It makes sense...a little."

I glanced away from the fixture and at the orange jacketed pilot, raising an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Carth eyed me warily, picking up his fork and finishing his meal. When he swallowed he sighed, probably when he saw that I was still looking towards him expectantly.

"I'm not one hundred percent sure about this...since Bastila didn't give me an answer...but why else would a smuggler like you be chosen by the Jedi so suddenly and then thrown in with them? Because they knew you were Force sensitive to begin with."

Really? That would make some sense, after all, why would they just let someone as strong in the Force as I was to just rot in the Republic prisons? The Jedi were opportunists after all, at least from what I've seen of Bastila, and wouldn't waste my potential.

I think.

This is all based on how awesome my power actually was.

I gazed around the mess hall in search of Bastila but the Jedi was nowhere to be seen. She must have ducked out. I frowned, grabbing another bite off of Zalbaar's tray, echoed by another growl.

"Well...if that's true then the Jedi must have been lying to me. Because, as Bastila said, I was placed on the Endar Spire for my language abilities. Not because I was strong in the Force. And...wasn't it our bond-?"

I stopped myself from speaking further. I didn't want to tell Carth anything about how me and the Jedi was somehow connected in the Force during the whole incident on Taris. At least...that was the only window of time that it could have happened.

And...I thought that it was the bond between us that opened me up to the Force...and that I hadn't been naturally dispositioned to it. Else I would have been discovered long ago...right? I mean...I've seen Jedi before, most of the ones I've met are dead now, but wouldn't they have said something?

Force damn Carth...always making me paranoid. He really does bring out the worst in me. I may not have trusted the Jedi...but they didn't trust me as well so the feeling was mutual. It would have been worse if they trusted me while I didn't trust them. They would obviously be lying about something. Fake smiles were worse than sincere distaste. At least they got that right.

And even worse...if I somehow trusted them and they didn't trust me. I would be a mindless puppet then...unknowingly following their every whim. They would be worse than Sith, at least then I would know if I was being tortured.

My face broke out into a smile then a small chuckle.

But of course...I didn't trust them at all so what was I worrying about? The feeling was mutual...so they couldn't have been lying...right?

"No...they probably didn't lie to me. They would have said something sooner right? I mean, why would they hide something like that?" I said. "You're just being paranoid again, looking for ulterior motives." I sighed once. "But I'm not angry at you since you're suspicion is directed at the Jedi this time, right?"

Carth ducked his head, narrowing his eyes, and Mission was nodding her own, lekku bouncing. Zalbaar still seemed upset over me stealing from his mountain of food.

The pilot shrugged standing with his tray. "Technically you _are _a Jedi now so..." He smirked. "I suppose you're right. And I'm..." he sighed. "Sorry."

I smiled broadly.

"What was that? Didn't hear you."

He groaned.

"I'm. _Sorry_. Okay? For suspecting you like that...It really wasn't fair of me. At all," he said.

I jumped out of my seat ignoring the pain in my legs. I pointed at the pilot.

"You hear that fellow Jedi? Carth Onasi just _apologized_! Let's give this soldier a round of applause."

But...of course since these Jedi were no fun whatsoever...I was the only one clapping. I think Mission joined in faintly...but she stopped after a while. Meanwhile, Carth just glared at me.

"You know what..." he muttered, shaking his held head. "Why do I even bother with you?"

And he walked away, throwing out his trash, my claps slowing.

Suddenly...this whole Jedi thing didn't seem so bad after all. Whether it was Carth's admittance of his obvious faults or the euphoria of pain erupting in my legs, a smile appeared on my face as I sat down glancing towards Zalbaar who was still angry at me.

Mission's face was confused looking.

"Are you...sure you're alright, Wes?" she asked, concern etched on her face. "Maybe you have a fever..."

And I just nodded my head since no words were really necessary. As I pondered my own sanity...I noticed that Liam wasn't anywhere to be seen. I narrowed my eyes.

"Hey...where's the kid?' I asked.

Zalbaar frowned. "I thought he was with you..." he said.

I mentally shrugged, sitting back and grabbing another bite from Zalbaar's tray. Before I was almost ripped to pieces by the wookie, I wondered if the kid just wanted time to himself.

We finished up in the mess hall and part ways to go to our chambers. Tomorrow was going to be a nerve-racking day...and I still wasn't sure if I was prepared for it. And still I didn't see Liam anywhere. I scratched my head. Maybe he went with Canderous...the damn mandalorian was corrupting the five year old's innocent mind.

I hadn't realized it then, but I was wrong.

Completely..._wrong_.

**End of Episode I: A Second Chance**


	14. Perfection

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

* * *

**Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic**

**Episode II: The Star Path**

Four thousand years before the rise of the Galactic Empire, WES GALE, newly initiated into the Jedi Order, trains underneath his patient master ZHAR in the ways of the Force.

Still reminded of DARTH MALAK's destruction of the Outer Rim world Taris, the group that escaped it's surface count the days until the Sith Lord unleashes his might upon the Republic's forces, destroying them entirely.

A month has passed, each and every day Wes' knowledge of the Force grows. As he studies on the Outer Rim world of Dantooine, however, he becomes restless with the Jedi ways and begins to question the very Order itself...

* * *

**Strong Winds**

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen**

I shook awake, the night time Dantooine air rustling and familiar. The crickets chirped their usual greeting as I sighed, rubbing my head from the dream. It was so much clearer than normal, I actually felt as if I was actually _there_.

I sighed, apologizing to Bastila again as I placed my head on my pillow, praying that I wouldn't get another dream. Before I did though...an unfamiliar name came to mind.

"Meetra..."

I pursed my lips before shifting. Probably an old friend, a friend that I had forgotten about in my swirling memory. Maybe from Deralia? I feel as if I have forgotten a lot about my home world recently. I blame the Jedi for forcing me to wear their damn robes, tossing my red jacket and coin away as if it meant nothing to me. I still had them of course, though I rarely wore my jacket anymore.

My sleep was dreamless, fortunately, and the 0600 early morning rays cracked open my crusty eyes.

Another day of training. _Joy_.

I wouldn't say that Master Zhar was hard on me...it was just that I had to see _her_ there as well. She had to beat my ass..._every time_. A man's ego breaks eventually after the continuous beatings I received...and I swear she never took it easy on me.

I sighed as I rubbed my recent bruises, grabbing my robe and heading towards the mess hall, as usual. The schedule had become almost hardwired into my brain: get up, eat breakfast, listen to Zhar lecture about the different lightsaber forms, apply them in the form of Bastila beating me to death, then listen to Master Dorak go on about ancient history. Finally, I would read from a datapad for _hours_ before I had to eat lunch.

After that, meditation.

And I _hated_ meditation.

The first time Master Zhar forced me to just..._sit there_...my legs lost their sensation and my mind wandered... In which case each time I would be forced to listen to his dull explanations _again_.

I was used to it now though. Emptying my mind of all emotions and thoughts became easy after the first couple of tries...but it still bored me to death since I wasn't _learning_ anything.

And I wanted to know more.

The Force was interesting, I couldn't deny that. When I first opened myself to the Force it was as if I was suddenly alive after being dead for years. The feeling was exhilarating...and yet I was forced to slow down in this way by my own master. I mean, didn't he see that I was ahead of the curve? Well, Bastila still beat me but I was still so much better than most of the padawans here.

I still wasn't "ready" apparently.

I trudged down the Enclave hallways, growing depressed. It's been a month already...a _month _of pissing around and _waiting_. The Sith were still out there terrorizing the Republic.

Not that I really _cared_ but shouldn't the Council be a little bit concerned? I barely saw Vandar, I wished I saw less of Dorak, and every time I saw Vrook I involuntary cringed. None of them looked especially busy however, besides the normal training and paperwork.

A few Jedi nodded to me as I walked down the halls, apparently I had grown a reputation around here as being the "quick learner." Already some of the other apprentices crawled over me, demanding to tell them the "secret."

But there was no secret. It was just...natural I guess. Not much of a secret.

The mess hall was crowded and I raised an eyebrow as I saw a familiar figure in the corner. I narrowed my eyes, striding over to him.

"Where have you _been_?" I asked Canderous, crossing my arms. "It's been over a _month_ since I last saw you. I thought you left us."

The mandalorian snorted, staring off in thought.

"So...you _are _a Jedi. I knew you were lying to me on Taris." He smirked. "And as for what I've been up to..." He threw a metal rod at me and I caught it easily. I stared at the thing curiously before my own eyes widened.

"This is...?"

"A lightsaber." He chuckled as he saw my suspicious expression. "And no, I didn't kill any of you Jedi to get it. I got that off of the hands of another mandalorian. One that has been raiding the Dantooine countryside for the longest time. Of course...I got rid of that dishonorable son of a bitch and his lackeys..."

I nodded my head, remembering tales from the civilians of mandalorian raiders in the east. How one was able to get a lightsaber...my heart sunk.

"And...did you get all of them?" I asked.

Canderous Ordo gazed back at me confusedly.

"You think I'm an army, kid? I'm not going to risk my neck invading a clan by myself. I might be a battle hardened warrior...but I'm not stupid."

A clan? So...these weren't just simple raiders. An entire _clan_ was on Dantooine. I shuddered to think... that mandalorian Canderous killed hadn't been all of them. There were more.

And here the Jedi were...ignoring another problem-

_No_.

I shook my head quickly, shoving the lightsaber at Canderous.

"Keep that. I don't need it," I said.

The mando raised his dark eyebrows.

"You sure?" he shrugged. "If you say so..."

He pocketed the saber again as I left, my thoughts racing dangerously. There is no chaos, there is harmony. But is there _really_? Master Dorak taught me the code so many weeks ago and I committed it to memory, sometimes muttering it quickly when Bastila pissed me off...but I still haven't "understood" it as the Masters have said.

That had to have been the biggest slight to my intelligence so far. They were basically saying I couldn't understand something so _simple_. I understood that it was completely _wrong_.

My walking pace turned into stomps as I headed towards the training rooms, the mandalorian clan stuck in my mind. I wonder how long they will terrorize the farmers before the Jedi Council took notice? Probably forever. Dorak just liked to talk, Vandar just _disappeared_ and Vrook liked to find excuses.

And Master Zhar...well he was good at training people. I wasn't really expecting much from him.

Speaking of my master, the twi'lek smiled as I unconsciously stomped in.

"Good morning, apprentice," he said. "A little early today I see..."

Bastila was there, as always, with crossed arms. She smirked as she saw me, and I despised that smirk. My eye twitched as I saw that victory glance she always gave me, the look that said "ready to get your ass handed to you _again_?"

I shrugged. "Wasn't really hungry..."

"You had another dream?"

I sighed. _Bastila_, Force damn. Why did she always tell him? Dreams are sort of private...but of course she didn't even know what privacy _was_. This woman...

I groaned. "_Of course_ I had another dream. You really shouldn't be surprised anymore."

My master frowned. "I am not surprised. However, from what Bastila has told me this dream was different. Is that so?"

I sighed again, grabbing a practice saber from the rack. My third one so far, most have either broken or I unintentionally snapped by my misuse of the Force. The last time though was all Bastila.

I nodded. "Sure, if you call witnessing an entire planet blowing up to the core _different_...then yeah."

The dream was violent and emotional. I'm pretty sure if Bastila hadn't helped to pull me out of it I probably would have suffocated in my own nightmares. I knew exactly what we had dreamed of, Malachor V and the end of the Mandalorian Wars. The bloodiest battle in the entire war, billions dead, the entire planet destroyed in the blink of an eye. The tremor in the Force had been large, even in the dream. It was Taris times ten.

I didn't realize it...but I was staring at the hilt of the practice saber for over a minute. I jumped when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Are you alright, apprentice?" Zhar asked.

My mouth was open but otherwise I took in a breath.

"It's...nothing. It's just...I've always wondered why, out of all things, are we dreaming about Revan and Malak?"

I heard the Jedi Master sigh, his hand removing itself from my shoulder, I gazed back up at the Master, wondering what excuse he was going to come up with this time.

"Perhaps because both of you wanted to. Or maybe the Force has given you a sign in order to help stop Malak. There is always a balance in the Force, perhaps this dream is that attempt."

I snorted. As I've said, all suppositions and wishy-washy answers. Shouldn't they know what the Force does? They're Jedi...

I glanced towards Bastila. "I certainly didn't _want_ to dream about them."

The Battle Meditator crossed her arms when she saw me looking at her.

"They wouldn't be my first choice either," she muttered.

I rolled my eyes. "Of course not...since it's _you_ who's crawling all over my dreams to begin with," I replied with a pointed finger.

Her face grew red slightly in anger.

"Who said that these were _your_ dreams?" she said.

I raised my eyebrows.

"I sure as hell didn't cause this," I replied.

She huffed once. "_That_ would be vanity speaking-"

"So are you saying that these are your dreams then?" I questioned.

Suddenly, her whole demeanor shook and she glanced once towards the master who was impassively watching our discussion. The twi'lek only smiled back at the woman causing her to groan in confliction.

"Whether you want to acknowledge it or not, we are _sharing _a vision that the Force desires us to see. Neither of us chose this nor wished this upon the other. Let's just get onto the lesson."

I felt like hiding in a corner after she said those words. I hefted up my sparing weapon, glancing towards Master Zhar.

I sighed. "It doesn't really matter anyway...they're just nightmares..."

At least that's what I've been trying to convince myself. For a month.

Master Zhar looked relieved when I said that, nodding.

"Then prepare yourself. Today, you'll be learning Form IV, Ataru, while combining previously learned forms into combat."

I pursed my lips, nodding as I flipped the practice blade up, giving Bastila an eye. Master Zhar went through the sequences of this form which relied mostly on speed rather than precision. So far Bastila's favored technique had been Makashi and she easily found all of my openings which is why my ribs ached every morning. I wasn't so good at the technique obviously since I left myself open so easily, relying on Shii-Cho more often then not. The basic form. I really was a failure.

We each readied into our stances after Zhar taught me how to use the Force to create the form. I wasn't exactly confident that I had it down so I glanced wearily towards Bastila who still had a glint in her eyes.

And I narrowed my own.

I was first to attack, sweeping quickly and shortly at her, alternating rapidly and in no specific pattern. I was going to beat her today, I was sure of it. She was just as tired as I was so the fight was even, all I needed to do was find a weakness.

I ducked when she went to figuratively cut my head off and rolled away from her. As I recovered however, she saw another opening and threw her practice saber at me. I cursed lowly but was able to quickly throw the blade away from me with the Force and dove back into the fight, confident now that she foolishly threw her weapon away.

She was smiling at me though.

Why was she smiling at me?

I twisted around, a loud clack of two wooden practice sabers colliding together. I wasn't exactly sure if this was allowed...since she was using the Force to control her weapon.

Fortunately it flew over me after a time and returned into her hand.

I groaned, sweat building up on my forehead as I regripped my own blade. She was still smiling at me.

"You've learned..." she muttered.

"Learned what?" I snorted, rolling my eyes. "To watch my back?"

She attacked me again and I was put on the defensive, my newly learned form _worthless _now. Not when she was being so relentless. The wooden blade snapped at me once, adding a new bruise, and every time I blocked I just got more and more tired. I was just about to give in and throw my saber down before I realized that she was getting tired as well...

She was using Ataru now just to spite me so I weaved away instead of blocking. She was a blur as she attacked yet I was still able to avoid her acrobatic forms. And she was growing tired, just as I guessed she would.

She paused her attacks, breathing deeply, confusion written on her face.

"What are you-?"

I didn't give her a chance to finish as I dove into Ataru myself, staggeringly yet relentlessly going on the offense. She grunted as she was forced to block my overarching attacks, her face drained of color. I was moving unpredictably and - admittedly - not sticking with the sequences Zhar taught me. How was I supposed to beat her though if she knew what attacks I was going to use? I only had Shii-Cho, Makashi, and now Ataru to choose from. Each of which she knew how to counter.

So...I got..._creative_.

Using as much aggression that I had saved from previous fights, I used as much force as possible in the Ataru form, giving it a little spice. Why not try something different? I never heard Master Zhar say that I had to use a form _exactly_.

A bead of sweat went down Bastila's forehead and I knew I had her. I twisted into the air, backflipping over her but she was ready for me. And I her.

I turned quickly around to slice and...

And...her saber broke. Shit...I didn't...I didn't know how powerful that would be. I was just going for a modified version of Ataru not...whatever _that _was.

Bastila appeared shocked as she lowered her broken blade, her face white. Master Zhar seemed speechless as well. I was breathing heavily and wiped my brow of sweat. I finally beat her...right? Did that count? Disarming an opponent seems to be just as good as hitting them, right?

I gave my master a hopeful look.

He shuddered. "W-What you just used...never in my years training in this academy have I seen a student..."

I narrowed my eyes.

"_What_?" I asked. "What did I do wrong _this time_?"

He lowered his head then waved his hand. "Nothing it's just...y-you have done in weeks that many do in years. Just...practice is over for now. Take a break."

And he walked out quickly like a blustering wookie in Tatooine heat. I raised my eyebrows towards the shocked master before eyeing Bastila.

"What was that all about?" I asked, smirking.

However she was speechless as well so I sighed, putting the practice saber away. I _told _him that we needed to practice with real lightsabers but apparently I wasn't even ready for those.

I wasn't a child damn it.

I grabbed a washcloth and drained my face of the sweat, looking forward to Dorak's lecture on Sith Wars and inner political struggles of the past. I think I almost fell asleep once during his lectures...

I turned around and noticed that Bastila was still there, giving me a raised look. I slapped the cloth onto the metal balance bar, returning her look with glare.

"You want to say something?" I asked.

I think I snapped her out of her reverie because she flinched, shaking her head, pigtails flying.

"The last sparing...it was tiresome. Sorry if I'm spacing out a bit..."

I responded by pursing my lips, grabbing my dark hue cloak and shoving it on. Bastila was still there though looking out the windows into Dantooine's blue sky. I smirked, treading quietly behind her...then used the Force to trip her discretely. I turned around, pretending I had nothing to do with her falling as she yelped, more in surprise then pain.

"What is-what was _that_ for?" she shouted at me.

I raised my eyebrows, smiling down at her then laughing.

"Tripping without even walking...you really are losing your touch," I said.

She huffed, quickly standing. "That was you - you just - you... you _childish fiend!" _

I looked out the window she had been gazing out before, rubbing my stubble chin.

"And stumbling over your own words as well? What happened to perfect Jedi princess over here?"

She huffed in her pretty Talravin accent. "I am not _perfect_. No one is perfect."

I nodded my head, my smile still on my face. I wondered why she ignored the fact that I called her a princess...must have some strange desires.

"Of course..._now _you say that. After I beat you."

I saw her twitch.

"That-you _didn't _beat me. What you used wasn't Form IV at all."

"Since when was there a rule for me to use the proper form anyway? You're a more experienced fighter so I was going to lose every time if I didn't do something different." I smiled, suddenly coming up with something. "You want it to be fair? Then the form I used was Form IV point five - Spicy Ataru. Patent pending."

Bastila growled again, stomping closer to me with a pointed finger.

"You can't...just _make up_ a lightsaber form. These seven forms took _thousands of years_ to develop."

I frowned, scratching my head. "Well...it has to start somewhere I suppose. Let's hope that it survives the alpha stage then...a thousand years from now."

I felt a hand on my collar and looked down at the Jedi Knight. She was sneering at me.

"What have you believed Jedi training _was _this entire time? A game of _pazaak_?" She shook me once and I grabbed her wrist with narrowed eyes. She continued. "You use the Force like no one I've ever seen...but you don't take it seriously. Do you know how..._dangerous _that is?"

I pulled at her wrist and she released me. I straightened my collar giving her a pointed look.

"How exactly am I supposed to take this seriously? The Jedi Council certainly hasn't been taking _me _seriously." I huffed, looking away from Bastila. "Why are we still here? On the Enclave? I know that I've trained enough. _They_ know that I've trained enough. So what are they waiting for exactly? What are they expecting? I've learned all that I could as a lowly _apprentice _in this facility. I'm ready to take my trials, Bastila. So...tell me, why am I _not _ready to become a padawan? What am I missing?"

My words reverberated in the room, her face grew dark and I could feel her emotions swirling in the Force. Guilt, loss, pain and doubt. They were all there.

She was muttering something. "...no emotion, there is peace."

I raised my eyebrows before turning around. "Obviously there _is _emotion. This bond especially...I wouldn't feel-"

I suddenly chocked on my own collar as she brought me down to the ground with the Force. I landed not so gracefully as she had, colliding hard onto the floor mats. I sighed. "I'm pretty sure we _aren't_ sparring right -"

"You have to be the most..._vainest_..._arrogant _man alive."

I grunted, sitting up, rubbing my neck. Bastila was red faced. "We are taught as _Jedi_ to control our emotions. That may not necessarily _mean_ they don't exist but we still have to do our best to fight them back. That is why you will _never_ be ready. The Council is afraid that you will succumb to the dark side. You exhibit dangerous thoughts about the Force, don't hide your _blatant _arrogance, and even defy the Jedi Council. _That _is what you're missing."

And she stomped out, leaving me to simmer on the floor.

Because I knew she was right...she was _always_ right. Despite her being a hypocritical prick I couldn't overlook her words.

I haven't really attempted to act like I believed in the Jedi's brainwash at all. I would question Master Zhar or Dorak and sometimes even Vrook every chance I got, asking them for _reasons_ and not just blindly following them like they expected. And, apparently, questions brought me down a peg in their eyes. Passion and emotion, dangerous qualities that I've openly expressed in front of the Masters.

No wonder why we've just been sitting around here as I "trained." I was too curious and dangerous in the eyes of the Masters. A child who just didn't understand their misguided ways.

I sighed, standing up. Damn you Bastila...

**W**

"I see you insist on wandering the halls of our Enclave when you should be busy studying your lessons."

Why did I have to run into Master Vrook when I was trying to skip pointless datapad reading and attempt to investigate this mandalorian problem? This almost reminded me of those holofilms where a kid was trying to skip Standard School but was caught by a teacher right as he was going to leave. Bad luck all around.

I smirked, rubbing my head.

"My lessons are going well...Master Vrook," I said, bowing awkwardly. I was still in the enclave fortunately so he didn't suspect a thing... "I just finished early. Was going to-"

"I find it hard to believe that you have completed _all_ of your studies in an hour. What has Master Dorak assigned you?"

I looked off to the side, trying to make up an easy assignment. I smiled, completely prepared to tell my fabricated lie.

"Oh, the Mandalorian and Exar Khun wars of course. See...I already know a lot about both so I'm pretty confident-"

"It doesn't matter if you're _confident_ about your predispositioned knowledge. Your lessons are there to _specifically _guide you in the ways of the Jedi lest you suffer a fate similar to that of Revan."

I snorted. That was a little extreme, was every Jedi that attempted to skip assignments a Sith Lord now? Unfortunately, Vrook saw my defiance and crossed his arms, not intending me to let me go.

I sighed, shaking my head. "I'm doing _fine_, Master. I doubt that I'd 'suffer a fate similar to that of Revan' by overlooking a part of history that I already know well enough about. Now excuse-"

"You wouldn't say that if you knew anything about Revan to begin with. Because right now...you are acting _exactly_ like him."

I paused, my mouth hung open as I stared at the grey haired Jedi perplexedly. What was this old guy going on about? Vrook looked off into the Dantooine sky. "Revan was a promising young padawan. Always eager to learn more about the Force, he rose in the ranks and became a Jedi Knight. That curiosity led him down a dark path as he sought knowledge of Sith artifacts and practices, foolishly ignoring the dangers of the dark side." I swallowed, not liking the look he was giving me.

He continued. "When the Mandalorian Wars started, despite our _insistent_ warnings, he joined the conflict dragging thousands of eager Jedi with him into the Outer Rim worlds. After he disappeared, we knew he had fallen."

I may have not paid attention to everyday Senate politics but I remembered the Mandalorian Wars. And I also knew, despite hating Revan for being a dark Sith Lord like Malak and all, that without his genius the war would have been lost long ago. We would be speaking mando'a right now if the rogue Jedi hadn't intervened. So, what Vrook said didn't convince me that someone who apparently cared about the interests of the Republic just fell to the dark side overnight.

I looked off to where Master Vrook was gazing at, perplexed.

"I wonder where Revan and Malak disappeared to. What caused them to fall out there?" I asked.

The old Master snorted. "Revan and Malak fell to the dark side a long time before that. Whatever they found in the Unknown Regions only contributed to their fall and hadn't caused it."

"Really?" I rubbed my chin. "I don't remember Revan and Malak being tyrants during the war...in fact, if I remember correctly, they were the only ones who even bothered trying-"

I saw the Master jerk in my peripheral vision and I shuddered as I felt the old man's anger. I removed my hand from my chin, looking up. Vrook was redder than any sun, his dark glare like a lightsaber to my heart. I creased my brow as I stared back at him.

He shook his wrinkled head slowly. "You really haven't learned a _thing_, have you?" he growled. To be quiet honest, I was afraid of the Jedi Master then, he actually looked hostile. My mouth shot open as I felt that intent, a strange anger coming from a Jedi Master who preached control.

I had to look away.

"Why are you always so... criticizing of me?" I asked honestly. No matter how many times Vrook seemed to view it, I wasn't Revan. And I wasn't Malak. How fair was it for this old guy to just assume that I would be anything like that? Because I was a very late starter? Was that the only reason?

Suddenly, his anger seemed to disappear from his face, replaced entirely with simple annoyance.

"If you find me overly critical, perhaps it is because you do not fully understand what is at stake. For fifteen thousand years the Republic has brought peace and stability to the galaxy. Now the Republic may fall because we, the Jedi, have failed them."

I raised my eyebrows at the Master, surprised that he actually looked..._guilty_? What did he have to be guilty about?

I hadn't noticed but Master Vrook had been staring out into the Dantooine landscape for a little longer than normal already. I coughed once and his glare returned on to me, continuing on as if nothing happened. "Revan and Malak were paragons of the ideals the Order seeks to uphold, yet they succumbed to the temptations of the dark side. When Revan fell, Malak took up the mantle of dark lord of the Sith as if nothing happened. What will happen once Malak is defeated? What's stopping another Jedi from taking his place?"

"That's not going to happen though," I responded then hesitated before laughing slightly. "I mean...you can't... have _that_ little faith in me..."

The old master sighed. "You really don't understand...do you? It is not just _you_ that I'm talking about. Because of our failures, as masters we have to watch over our pupils and make sure they do not succumb to the dark side as easily as Revan and Malak. That is why I can expect _nothing _but perfection from you."

Perfection...Bastila said something about that, didn't she? No one was damn _near _perfect. Why did they place so much high expectations on me? I was just a _smuggler_ before this happened, their damn expectations should be _low_ not _high_.

Master Vrook eyed me once before he walked past me. Then as a final call..."I would go back to your lessons if I were you. If you are not careful then the dark side will overwhelm you and by the time that happens...no one will be able to save you."

_Shit_. The pressure of Vrook's words weighed heavily onto my shoulders as he finally left, the exit with the droids not looking so great anymore. Despite the master being completely _wrong_ I knew exactly what his words actually meant. If I didn't begin to take this seriously then I would be stuck here _forever_.

Go back to my lessons..._fine_. Okay, _alright _I get it. I can take things seriously. Who said that I couldn't?

**W**

I opened my eyes, jumping when I realized that I was hoovering a foot above the ground. I had been meditating for about an hour now, completely focused.

A multitude of clatters and I had to jump again, looking around the Council hall. My eyes widened when I saw many chairs laying about in different positions, none of them sitting upright as if a large wind had picked them up and tossed them onto the floor. I rubbed my face slowly. Unbelievable...I actually did _that_?

A chatter surrounded me. I looked around cautiously and noticed a group of padawans and apprentices gawking at me as if I was a freak show. I heard a few shouts from the crowd to move out of the way and almost ran away when three of the masters - Dorak, Vrook, and Zhar - headed throughout the crowd.

"That's _enough_ back to your lessons," Dorak pleaded with the group of overeager young ones.

I was still confused as to what was going on and why there had been a group looking at me as I meditated. It was rather...disturbing to say the least. Maybe that was why Jedi hated being disturbed and acted like they had something up their asses...

I took the time to scratch my head as I observed the mess I made. Damn...I should really clean that up...

As the masters finished clearing out the group of padawans and apprentices, I picked up all the chairs one by one and shoved them back against the wall. I really had to watch what I was doing while I was meditating...or at least not try to _prove _something while meditating...

I rubbed my brow of sweat when I finished. I know I could have used the Force to move them...but I was used to doing things by hand. I couldn't always rely on the Force like a crutch.

I hadn't noticed...but Bastila was standing there, still gawking at me like one of the apprentices. I smirked at her, digging my hands into my robe pockets and walking past her, noticing that the sun was setting. Damn...so I wasn't meditating for an hour after all...time sure seemed to fly.

As if in response my stomach growled bringing Bastila back to reality.

"And how, might I ask, did you do _that_?" she asked, walking beside me.

I stopped walking, eyeing her. "What?" I responded.

"That..._thing_. You just...nevermind. Forget it..."

I smirked at her and instead of continuing to walk on like she probably expected, I drew closer to her face, my smile growing. I could see that she looked mildly uncomfortable.

"Come on...you can tell me, bondy," I said.

As if that word was a negative she groaned deeply, walking past me while shaking her head, pigtails bouncing.

"_Bondy_? What is that supposed to mean?" she asked.

I shrugged, walking beside her. "You know...a combination of bond and buddy. Bond buddy. What else are we supposed to call what we are?"

"We have a _bond_. We aren't _buddies_. Two very different things."

I smiled turning around and facing her, walking backwards easily enough.

"I think you're interested in more than just the 'bond' between us," I said, winking at the word "bond."

She stopped quickly and I stopped, just before I collided into some poor padawan that dropped his notes. As if recognizing me as some master or something he bowed once and ran off, leaving me with the blustering Jedi Knight. My smile only seemed to grow when I saw light red light her features.

"_Please_. I'm a Jedi. Such feelings, such attractions...are, well-"

"You have _feelings _for me?" I said, faking shock. "I'm sorry, but I think this is going a bit too quickly. Maybe we could just be friends-?"

Her face appeared comically horrified, and gradually growing even redder.

"That isn't...you are so_ impossible. _Truly."

I smiled, forgetting about my own fainted horror and continued to walk on, Bastila coming along beside me. The redness on her face was just about to cool off. Though...maybe she should have learned when to stop talking...

"I admit I find you intriguing." I stopped walking and looked up at her with a raised brow. She hesitated when she noticed my humorous expression. "Uh...I mean I find your command of the _Force _intriguing. But my interest in you is purely academic. Surely you can understand why."

I nodded."Right. So I'm as attractive as a lab gizka. Got it."

I heard her sigh again. "That isn't... _Anyway_. I came looking for you to ask some questions. I know very little about you and, given our relationship-"

"Our _relationship?_" I chuckled. "What is this? Some kind of clumsy come-on?"

Her face began to turn red again. "I was _referring _to the bond we share. You know, the one the Jedi Council spoke of? If I was _actually_ interested in a relationship with you, surely I would come up with a better attempt then this."

I looked away with a small smirked. "Touched a nerve there, huh?"

"Touched a nerve, no. Getting on my nerves, most definitely. I suppose this is what you men consider being 'witty,'" she said, rolling her eyes while huffing.

I smiled slightly at her words and began to walk towards the mess hall, my stomach beginning to actually detract from this game me and Bastila were playing at the moment. At least...it seemed fun to me...not sure if she was enjoying it.

When we reached the hall, the Jedi Knight continued to talk...she really liked talking didn't she?

"Anyway, are you going to answer my questions or are you just going to keep annoying me?"

I shrugged, grabbing a metal tray from the top, heading towards the hot food with Bastila trailing behind me. Didn't she know when to have a proper discussion? Like...when I wasn't starving maybe?

"I don't know what you would want to ask. You want to know my life story or something?"

I noticed the Knight had grabbed a tray herself and was now filling up with food like I was. Well, maybe she just liked talking while she was hungry.

She shook her head. "Nothing so detailed. Just simple facts like...what planet are you from?"

I shrugged. "Deralia. Anything else?"

"How old are you?"

"15,657. Healthy living you know?" I said quickly.

I heard the Knight groan.

"I'm _serious_. Are you-?"

"Twenty-nine. I'm still not sure why you're asking me-"

"I know that you were a smuggler from the records we had from the ship but...care to tell me how you became a smuggler?"

I raised my eyebrows. "How? Don't you mean _why_? I mean, that's the first question that anyone would ask a smuggler right?"

I grabbed a fruit and began to head towards the tables, the Knight strangely lagging behind.

"I-I-That's what I meant. Why?"

I inhaled deeply as I took a seat in an empty table, stretching the meditation sours out of my body. Despite it just appearing like I was just sitting there for a few hours, meditation really put a strain in my body. And made me hungry as hell.

I sat there for a while, pondering Bastila's intrusive question. I mean, we were stuck together now due to this dumb bond of ours so I guess it would only make sense to answer her questions.

"It was before the Mandalorian Wars - when there were just skirmishes? Yeah...they took over my planet, burned mostly everything to the ground. I was captured by one of their slaver ships but fortunately I was able to escape with the help of some old woman. She formed the crew and found the ship and that's when I began my smuggling career. It's that simple."

I noticed that Bastila was sitting beside me, gazing fiercely at me as I remembered the beginnings of my smuggling career. It was nothing to be proud of, sure, but those moments were what made me who I was today. To just up and _forget_ where I came from would make me almost as bad as Carth - even though he practically _lives_ in the past. That's why I still had my coin and jacket laying around somewhere...

Bastila glanced towards me. "Who was this old woman, if it's okay to ask..." she said, her grey eyes a bit brighter than normal in this mess hall.

I smiled. "Her name..."

Had I still forgotten? Was it really that hard to remember? I shook and held my head as it began to pound slightly in pain.

"Her name was Kreia."

"_Kreia_?" she practically shouted.

I tilted my head in surprise as she stood up with slight confusion marking her face. I turned around in my seat, smirking as her face began to sink into a depression.

"What...have you heard of her? She steal from you or something?" I asked humorously, sitting back. "I didn't really think she was that good of a smuggler... She disappeared when the Mandolorian Wars started, leaving me with the ship. She barely had it for five years before she decided to just leave. I considered her a sort of teacher, you know? And she had to just up and go out into the wastes of space..."

"Why is her name _Kreia_?"

She was shaking now, I wasn't sure if it was from fear or delirium. Why was she still stuck on her name? Had they really run into each other before?

I shrugged. "Her parents gave her that name? I don't know...why is _your_ name Bastila?" I peered at her closely, her face dark and conflicted, her emotions swirling around in that familiar tornado she liked to create. I narrowed my eyes, frowning. "Are you...alright? What's wro-?"

She suddenly stormed off, leaving her tray of food on the table while leaving me paralyzed. I couldn't believe what just happened...why was she overreacting so much? She was the one asking the questions!

I shrugged, returning my thoughts to my food.

There was something wrong...maybe with the way that I told her I was a smuggler? Was it Kreia?

Why would she be upset over her?


End file.
